Both Sides of the Wall
by The Great Khan
Summary: Set during the first siege of Ba Sing Se, Both Sides of the Wall is a sweeping war epic that tells tales of scheming, of heroism, and of what some men will do in the pursuit of power...and of victory. Now complete! Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1: Jeong Jeong

**CHAPTER ONE: JEONG JEONG**

The day was young, and dew clung to the grass that Commander Jeong Jeong tread upon. The sun was rising beautifully, he saw: its orange-red seemed to bleed into the clouds and sky around it, like a spectacular wound in the horizon. The dew was all ready starting to become fog, and it hung around his ankles, kicked up with every step he took. He was used to the cold mornings of the Earth Kingdom, used to breathing in that fresh, heady mist every morning. It was, in its own way, soothing. However, six long years of campaigning across the Earth Kingdom still didn't wipe away his memories of that comforting warmth that enveloped his homeland, the Fire Nation-to the whole nation, it seemed as though the sun embraced it as its favored son.

As he neared the camp of the host's commanding officer, he saw the two sentries posted at the entrance snap to a salute. They both bowed, their hands offered forward torches to their superior. "Good morning, Commander Jeong Jeong," they chorused. Jeong Jeong let a small grin creep onto his weathered face. These men weren't going through the motions, just greeting him because of his rank. They seemed genuinely happy to see him, and he always held appreciation for that.

"At ease, hotmen," he said. The one on the right was a young man, obviously fresh out of the academy. Jeong Jeong didn't know his name. The one on the left, however, had been in one of Jeong Jeong's own units before being promoted into the General's personal guard. "Matsu," he said. "You're looking well." Matsu merely nodded, trying to keep his composure: typical soldier's reaction. Jeong Jeong knew him well enough, though.

"Thank you, sir."

"But from what I hear, you've gotten soft in this unit," he continued. "Word reached me you lost big in Pai Sho last night. Have you forgotten how to play among the best?" Jeong Jeong added, somewhat teasingly. Something, anything to get these men to relax. It was enough that there was a war going on, and these men were tired. He was inwardly grateful when Matsu decided to loosen up, even just a little bit.

"I haven't forgotten how to play, sir," he said. "The General is just the best there is. He always says Pai Sho is more than just a game." That brought a full smile to Jeong Jeong's face. He always did say that.

"As you were, men," Jeong Jeong said, and walked past them. He headed up the avenue between lines of tents to the biggest tent of them all. Despite its size, it was not overly elaborate or decorated, like some officers' tents; in a move to foster unity among the troops, their commander had insisted on living like the troops as much as possible. It was a move that Jeong Jeong admired; here was an officer who understood his men. He heard of so many brash officers, quick to abuse their station, but he was pleased to see that his own leader was not among their number. Considering his pedigree, this was even more reassuring about the state of the Fire military.

Jeong Jeong peeled back the tent flap, and there, sitting over his war board at even this hour of the morning, was General Iroh. He sat with a certain regality befitting of the first son of Fire Lord Azulon, his brow furrowed in thought, his fingers idly toying with the strands of his beard. He looked up at the intrusion, and his expression relaxed. "Good morning, Commander Jeong Jeong," he said pleasantly. Jeong Jeong bowed, grinned.

"I hope I find you well, General Iroh."

"As always, my strong right hand." Iroh always had liked that nickname. Jeong Jeong supposed he had earned it; he had been through so many campaigns with Iroh, and now as they were nearly two years into their siege, he had no intention of leaving. Of all the officers Jeong Jeong had served under, Iroh was far and away his favorite. He knew his men, knew how to use them well, knew how to keep them happy. Most officers knew how to fight wars. Iroh knew how to win them.

He offered up a porcelain cup, its contents steaming. "Tea?" he offered. With a gracious nod, Jeong Jeong took the cup and slowly sipped its contents. He felt that warm soothing feeling trickle down the back of his throat, and his senses stirred. Iroh did know how to make the best tea.

"Thank you," Jeong Jeong said, placing the cup down after a moment.

"Not at all," came Iroh's easy reply. "What can I do for you?"

"Last night one of my contacts within Ba Sing Se sent me some inside information that I thought you would find useful," Jeong Jeong began. "General Weng is dead. The cause of death is unknown as of yet. Official word is that he died peacefully in his sleep, but my source suspects foul play." Weng had been one of those legendary generals on the Council of Five. He had been a keen mind and a vicious fighter. Iroh nodded slowly.

"He was a good soldier," he said in his measured, majestic voice. "I am certain the Earth King regrets his loss greatly. Who have they promoted in his stead?"

"According to my sources, How has been named his successor," Jeong Jeong answered. "He will be a worthy successor, in all likelihood. Certainly, he will do a great deal better than Sung." Sung, that cowardly fool. He had practically inherited the position from his infinitely better-qualified brother, Cao. There was an officer. Jeong Jeong knew it; he had had the honor of facing him in single combat. Iroh nodded again in agreement.

"How will have to be treated with respect. I look forward to facing him on the walls."

"If we don't burn them to the ground first," Jeong Jeong said wryly. Iroh let out a strange, gasping laugh.

"That is funny," he chortled. "May I use it?"

"Please. Perhaps one day it will be on the lips of our Fire Lord."

"Perhaps," Iroh said, and though he tried to hide it, Jeong Jeong noticed how the General's brow furrowed at the mention of his own father's name. Clearly things were not as well in the Royal household as all of the glossy portraits and flowery stories claimed. With a gesture Iroh directed Jeong Jeong's attention to the war board-an in-depth diagram of the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, with troop movements dotting its surface. "Today, I want you to take four divisions and press hard on the easternmost segment of the wall. If How directly succeeds Weng, then this will now be under his jurisdiction." He looked up, smiling as always. "I have great respect for General How's war record, but I do not think that we should make his first day any easier." It was Jeong Jeong's turn to laugh: his shoulders shook slightly and he tilted his head back slightly by habit.

"I will see it done, General Iroh," Jeong Jeong said, rising. "We will commence the attack in two hours' time."

"Very good. Send the men my regards." With that, he was dismissed. Bowing one last time, Jeong Jeong turned and strode out of the General's tent. As he reached the edge of camp, he mounted the steed waiting for him: a massive, reptilian thing, borrowed from one of the cavalry units to speed his travel. He preferred to walk, but time was of the essence. Digging his heels hard into its scaled sides, it lurched forward, and he with it. As he started back towards his camp, he was all ready formulating his plans for the day.

_General How, congratulations on your promotion,_ he thought. _Let us see how well you hold up in the fires of battle._


	2. Chapter 2: Hu

**CHAPTER TWO: HU**

**ONE MONTH AGO**

"This is the most boring job ever," Hu muttered. He was barely moving his lips, and his entire body was stock-still, as befitted a soldier of his position. He was a member of the Earth King's royal guard, stationed to stand vigilant over the outer limits of his palace. It was an ultimately pointless duty-there were no enemies of the Earth King within the walls of Ba Sing Se, and their enemies without could never reach the palace. He wasn't suggesting that the Earth King be left unguarded, but…well, when he was offered the position, he'd hoped there'd be a bit more to it.

The sun was starting to beat down, and in a few hours it would be downright oppressive. He wanted to be helping the people of Ba Sing Se, not just standing here like some statue. He was a good, strong Earthbender. He was young and able-bodied. Every day he strained to hear about any developments on the front, whether the Dragon of the West had made any progress, whether any old comrades had fallen. Every day, he grew more and more frustrated with his lot in life. Everyone had told him it was a great honor to become part of the Earth King's legion of personal guard, but he did not appreciate the inactivity.

Hu looked over to the soldier next to him, and could not help but suppress a small grin: he had fallen asleep, in full armor, right where he stood. In his first days on the job, he'd been incredulous, but now it was a fact of life for him. The fact that this occurrence was so normal was really what drove him to laughter, rather than anything else. Gently, Hu tapped the ground with his bare foot, and it jolted slightly beneath his comrade's legs. He awoke with a start. "In case Xing comes by," Hu said, by way of apology. Grudgingly, the guard nodded, and stood at attention once more.

Guardmaster Xing didn't come by that whole morning; Hu hadn't expected him to. Xing was the head of the Palace Guard, and the Earth King's right hand. He was his closest advisor, and arguably his closest friend. Well, other than that bear. Bosco was truly the Earth King's closest companion, but besides that thing…

Xing took his job very seriously. Despite the fact that the palace guard hadn't needed to guard the Earth King from anything since the days of Avatar Kyoshi, he maintained that the guard should be constantly vigilant; for all we know, he would argue, the Fire Lord himself could come charging up the walkway at a moment's notice. But perhaps the strangest of all, he had expressly forbid anyone from mentioning the war within earshot of the Earth King. He was adamant that their ruler not have to hear words spoken about it. The palace guard had of course complied, though they found it very strange. Xing had been thorough in his disciplining, but the result was that he came off as needlessly paranoid, no matter how prudent the men knew his counsel to be deep down. He was good at his job, but he was not the best of leaders.

As the hours passed, Hu was certain that his day would just be another one he'd cross out on his calendar and dismiss in his memory as pointless. He was nearing the end of his shift, and soon, there would be blissful relief. He could go home, stretch his poor legs, and maybe go out for a night on the inner ring and see what fun there was to be had. A city as grand as Ba Sing Se held the means to get whatever any man might dream of; all one needed to know was where to look. But as Hu was in the middle of scrawling "Pointless" all over his mental ledger, he heard two sets of footsteps approaching his post. They were light and precise, unlike most Earthbenders'. In a moment, the individuals in question came into view, and Hu immediately understood why. They were agents of the Dai Li.

The Dai Li. Ba Sing Se's secret police. Even to someone in a station as important as Hu's they were an enigma. With their simple but elegant green-and-gold robes and their wide hats always pulled down over their eyes, the mere sight of them inspired fear and wonder. No matter what the Dai Li actually did, they had the whole of Ba Sing Se's imagination completely within their stony grasp. They were often called the guardian angels of Ba Sing Se, and Hu supposed they were, in a sense. They were more like phantoms, though; no angel struck such fear.

Hu fully expected them to walk by, their arms folded behind their backs, without a word. He had not even expected so much as a nod from the mysterious operatives. So it was to his great surprise when they stopped directly in front of him and one of them said, "Hu Wong." It wasn't a question. They knew exactly who he was. Hu could only nod wordlessly. "You are relieved. You are to come with us," the agent continued, speaking in a clipped monotone. His speech was much like his movements-no energy wasted, nothing extra. Everything about the two of them was so very precise. Resolving to keep his composure in the face of the will of the Earth King embodied, Hu saluted.

"Right away," he declared softly. They turned and began leaving the way that they came, and Hu fell into step slightly behind them. He kept his face as blank as possible, but anxiety and excitement warred inside of his stomach. He did not believe he was being detained; the Dai Li would have waited until he was out of the eyes of the public. They didn't like to leave their messes in the public eye. However, just because he wasn't being detained all ready didn't mean that bad could come of this.

"Er," he said. Immediately, the two of them stopped and craned their necks around at him. "Where am I being taken?" The two stared at him for a moment, and then in unison turned back ahead and kept walking, their steps in perfect time with each other. That was another thing about the Dai Li that simultaneously unnerved and fascinated Hu. They did everything in unison. Every calculated motion was efficient, precise, and done in communion with every other agent around them. It gave them this unearthly quality, as if they were something other than human, something beyond all those imperfections that made each person an individual.

Not wanting to be left behind, Hu quickened his pace until he fell into step with them once more. So he wouldn't be getting any answers. Very well. He wasn't sure that he would have been able to get any, even if they'd deigned to respond. Still, it would have been nice to just know that he wasn't about to disappear from the face of Ba Sing Se. Nonetheless, he walked on, and soon they had crossed from the pristine Palace district into the crowded inner ring. Here, the Dai Li seemed eager to not draw attention to themselves. Hu found himself weaving in and out of shady alleys, and occasionally he would notice another Dai Li agent, clinging silently to a wall, completely invisible were it not for the slight nod his escorts gave them as they passed.

As the walk wore on, the number of turns and times they doubled back seemed to blend together in Hu's mind-at this point, he was merely following the Dai Li rather than paying much attention to where he was going. I've stretched my legs, at any rate, he thought to himself. However, at long last the Dai Li finally stopped. They were standing at the back wall of what appeared to be a tavern. One of the agents, moving with that strange fluidity most uncharacteristic of Earthbending, reached out and seemed to stroke the air; as he did, a section of the wall slid down into the ground, creating a doorway. The other agent motioned for Hu to walk through. Slowly, with some degree of hesitation, Hu complied, and the second he stepped through that makeshift threshold the column of earth shot up behind him, enveloping him in darkness.

A second later, lanterns all across the dark room lit themselves, and Hu was bathed in green light. He looked around him. Dai Li agents stood all along the walls of the room, each one of them holding a lantern. The lights cast their faces in an even more sinister shadow than usual. And at the center of this room, there was a round wooden table, where sat a man. He was gaunt, with hungry jade eyes, and his long white hair seemed green in the lantern light. The smile that he greeted Hu with was predatory, like a sharkodile. Hu immediately knew who he was. If Xing was the Earth King's right hand, then the man before him was most certainly his left.

"Good evening, Hu Wong," the man said. "My name is Tsao Tsai. I am the head of the Dai Li. Won't you please have a seat?"


	3. Chapter 3: General How

**CHAPTER THREE: GENERAL HOW**

"Man the parapets! Don't let them get past our fire!" General How's voice rung out like a clarion call, somehow managing to not get lost over the din of battle. All around him, there was chaos. Blasts of flame and chunks of earth flew back and forth in every direction. Men were in huge clusters along the massive stone wall, either raining earth down on the attackers or using their Earthbending to repel any ladders put in place. The harsh heat of the day combined with the attacks of the Firebenders was making it nigh unbearable._ How do those Fire Nation men stand it?_ How wondered, not for the first time.

Looking out over the battlefield, How saw that his section of the wall was easily being hit hardest. The others were being attacked as well, but only enough so that none of them could reinforce his position. That would be the Dragon of the West, all right. Divide and conquer. It was only How's first day, but he was resolved to show the Fire Nation who they were dealing with now. After this battle was over, though, he thought, he would have to devise a relief system so that this ploy wouldn't work again. It was one of many things he wished to use his new position to reform, but the Council of Five was not particularly open to new ideas.

How cast his eyes upon the banners that floated above the host below him. It would pay to know who General Iroh had sent against him. He saw the emblem of the intertwined dragons-that would be Jeong Jeong. How had heard of him, and even among the Earth Kingdom military he had a good reputation. It was often said that if you had to be taken prisoner by the Fire Nation, you had best hope for Commander Jeong Jeong or General Iroh. How knew in his gut that this would be a very hard fight, then. Jeong Jeong wouldn't become discouraged after a few failed attempts to take the wall. He was probably biding his time, letting How's own troops bleed their strength out a little before attacking in earnest. It was a wonder that he hadn't been promoted yet.

There were a few other banners being held aloft, but only one other one caught How's eye: an ornate thing of red silk, with the emblem of the Fire Nation Royal Family emblazoned upon it. For a wild moment, How thought that Iroh had come himself to challenge the wall, and he searched the field for the Dragon. However, after a moment it was apparent that Iroh wasn't there. Before he could wonder who indeed was, he saw the figure and had his answer. Clad in red and gold armor and exhorting his men to new heights as he waved his shining blade was Prince Lu Ten. He was something of a mystery to How, who knew very little of his military record. He was reputedly popular with his men, but if half the stories told about the Fire Nation were true then a cannibal would be popular with his men. He seemed to be in control of the situation down below. An arrow fired from above flew straight for one of the men next to him, and in one smooth motion the Prince turned an incinerated it with a gesture before turning back to the wall and throwing a bolt of fire at its defenders.

"Get down!" How heard someone yell. An orange explosion of flame mushroomed across the ramparts before collapsing, leaving singed bodies and burn marks where it had hit. How shook his head slowly. It was a grisly mess, fighting against Firebenders. It wouldn't be nearly as dangerous as fighting the Water Tribe, that was for sure. The Earthbending school of thought was all about meeting your opponents head on and being as stalwart and immoveable as its namesake element…but what could it really do against a school of thought whose mantra was to do the exact same thing, but do it faster? How had often thought subterfuge would be the best way to undermine them. Even so few as a dozen Dai Li could wreak untold havoc if unleashed in the Fire Nation's camps at the dead of night.

That was another thing they needed to free up. The Dai Li were among the best Earthbenders in the world, and yet according to edict they were firmly off-limits for the military to command. Even the Earth King's palace guard were allowed to be commandeered in times of great need, but not so with those shadowy agents. The rationale was that at least one standing force had to be separate from the military in case someone attempted a coup, but How found that ridiculous logic. No one would dare turn against the Earth King, and even if elements of the military did, the majority was completely loyal to the Earth King. In his opinion, it was just a matter of old Tsao Tsai loving his position too much and not wanting to give up any authority. How knew he could have found great use for even a small detachment of operatives.

Well, if wishes were ostrich-horses, we'd all be eating steak, he thought to himself before turning his attention back to the battle. He saw the Fire Nation troops were starting to fall back. The front line moved as one and shot forth a massive wall of flame, and for a moment the unexpected light blinded How and his troops. He shielded his face; even from here, he could feel the immense heat. When he felt his face cool, he looked and saw the Fire Nation troops standing just outside the range of his troops. His men were starting to relax, but How knew better. He had a feeling something was coming, and in a second he was proved right.

A low rumbling noise filled his ears, and he saw a cloud of dust heading towards the wall from behind Jeong Jeong's forces. Through big gaps in the ranks, they came: massive, howling metal monsters that spat fire and smoke into the sky as they moved. Tanks, he had heard them called. They were brand new machines, and it was beyond hope to try and bend their chassis. "Open fire!" How called, and a veritable avalanche cascaded down the wall onto the tanks. Rocks merely bounced off their metal hides, leaving the occasional dent but nothing more substantial. How let a few curses flow fluently from his mouth.

"Immobilize them!" How called out. Brute force wouldn't work on something that could shrug off flying boulders. They'd have to be a little more subtle. "Bend the earth beneath their treads! Get them off the ground!" He had to duck before he could say anymore; one of them had launched a fireball that had sailed just over his head and landed with crash in the grassy courtyard below. Immediately, volunteers with buckets of water rushed over to douse the flame before it could cause too much damage. Righting himself again, he stamped his foot hard on the parapet, causing a crack to form where he stood. A tremor shook down the wall and into the ground, causing a slight ripple effect. The ground beneath one of the tanks shook, and then suddenly a column of earth rose up out of the ground, grabbing the thing from underneath and hoisting its wheels off the land. Immediately, others began following his example, albeit with mixed results. Still others continued to keep up a steady stream of fire on the Fire Nation machines, and occasionally taking potshots at the serried ranks of infantry.

"We will not let them past this wall!" How started the old soldiers' chant.

"**We will protect it with our hearts and our lives!"** came the response, and to hear so many voices shout it to the heavens at once, it was at once reassuring and inspiring to General How.

"We will not let them take this ground!"

"**We will be as unyielding as the mountains themselves!"**

"We will not retreat!"

"**We will not surrender!"**

"Men of the Earth Kingdom! Ho!"

With an uproar, his men began fighting with renewed vigor. Before he punched a huge boulder into the hull of the tank he had immobilized, he had the time to think to himself, _Not bad for the first day. Not bad at all…_


	4. Chapter 4: Hu

**CHAPTER FOUR: HU**

**ONE MONTH AGO**

"Good evening, Hu Wong. My name is Tsao Tsai. I am the head of the Dai Li. Won't you please have a seat?" Cautiously, Hu took his seat opposite Tsao Tsai, noticing how the ranks of Dai Li seemed to close ever tighter as he neared their leader. It was almost as though he was trapped. But not quite.

"I suppose you are wondering why you've been brought here, escorted by two agents of the Dai Li?" Tsao Tsai said. That much was obvious; Tsao Tsai was merely stating it for the sake of stating it. "The truth of the matter, Hu, is that we have been watching you for some time now." He started rummaging through a file he had on the table, and with a start Hu saw his own name was written on it. "An exemplary war record, a speedy promotion at a young age…you seem to be very dedicated to the welfare of our city."

"And our entire kingdom," Hu declared proudly, surprised at his own boldness.

"Yes, of course," Tsao Tsai continued. "But we also have information that you are not quite happy with your current station."

"Of course not," Hu said. "I-"

"Please, Hu," Tsao Tsai said with a hint of arrogance. "Do not presume to lie to me. You complain about your job enough each day to make any attempt to cover yourself pointless." Hu stopped himself in mid-syllable. They really did know everything. How many times had he uttered a complaint without realizing other ears were listening in? Seeing the wisdom in what the man said, Hu deflated a little.

"I feel useless in such a ceremonial position," Hu said. "I feel that there is so much more that I could do to protect the people of the Earth Kingdom than just standing around and guarding a palace that our enemies will never reach." It felt strangely liberating to voice his feelings this way. To his slight surprise, Tsao Tsai merely nodded in what seemed to be agreement…and was that a ghost of a smile on his sharp features?

"I see." He rummaged through the file again, and then riffled the papers a little before straightening them out. "So, would you say that you would be happier in a job where you could do more to help the people of Ba Sing Se?"

"Absolutely," Hu replied, conviction in his voice. "My loyalty to the Earth Kingdom is absolute, and I want nothing more than to aid it." He could have sworn that out of the corner of his eyes he had seen two Dai Li exchange glances with each other as he said this, but he wasn't sure what he was seeing, with such strange lighting.

"Very good," Tsao Tsai seemed to be stating it as fact; it was more like he was talking at Hu than talking to him. Looking up from the file, he stared Hu straight in the eyes for the first time, and Hu was overwhelmed by the otherworldly mind that seemed to lurk behind their gaze. "Then we are pleased to offer you a position with the Dai Li." Hu was dumbfounded. He was acutely aware that his mouth was actually hanging open, but he couldn't really do much to amend it, not while his mind was working this out. Join the Dai Li? Become one of the legendary enforcers of the Earth King's will? "It would most certainly be a way for you to serve our kingdom's best interests," Tsao Tsai continued. "Your skill in Earthbending and your loyalty are two skills necessary to be an agent of the Dai Li, and we will of course teach you the rest."

"Er." Hu thought for a moment, collecting his words. "Can I think about it?" Tsao Tsai shook his head.

"You must make a decision here and now," he replied. "We do value the service you could provide, but we do not have all the time in the world to wait for you."

Another question was lurking in the back of Hu's head. "What if I say no?"

"Then you will wake up tomorrow and go back to your normal life. Of course, you will have no memory that this meeting ever occurred." No memory at all? The very thought made Hu shudder. He had heard so many rumors about the Dai Li being able to wipe the minds of their prisoners, but he had never once thought that they held any grain of truth. He had always assumed they were just information propagated to make them more fearsome by reputation. Did he really want to be subjected to this? And why was he even thinking about this? Here was a chance for him to do a world of good for the city he cared for so much, and the kingdom to which he felt he owed his life. He nodded his head.

"I accept." That predator's grin broke out over Tsao Tsai's face again.

"Good, good." He rose, his hands folded behind his back. "You will now be blindfolded and transported to Dai Li headquarters." The lanterns around the room were doused as one, and at the same time Hu felt a something silken being pressed against his face. The room immediately went dark, though whether it was from the blindfold or the quenched flames he could not say. "You will now be sedated," Tsao Tsai's voice rang out from some indeterminate direction from the darkness. "It makes the journey much easier, I can assure you."

A hand encased in an earthen gauntlet grabbed the bottom half of his jaw and yanked down-just enough to shove in something small and flavorless. The hand shut his mouth again. "Swallow," Tsao Tsai instructed, and seeing no other choice, Hu complied. For a moment, he stood there. But after mere moments, he began to feel as if he was floating in the darkness, and he could feel the dull sensation of himself being supported as every muscle in his body relaxed. His vision was all ready clouded in darkness; he could not tell when he finally went to sleep.

When he awoke, he was unsure how much time had passed. Minutes, hours, days…any time while he'd been under all blended together. His head had a dull throbbing pain, and his tongue felt and tasted like sandpaper. He blinked to adjust his eyes to the light, though it was fairly dim. Immediately, he could tell from the curved ceilings and the water dripping here and there that they were underground somewhere. There were no windows, and the sole source of light was the eerie glow of those emerald torches. He realized dumbly that he was sitting down, and unsteadily he got to his feet, getting his bearings back as his mind started working again.

He had barely gotten to his feet when he heard earth grind behind him and felt himself being bathed in light. He turned around to see the door had opened, and silhouetted in the doorway was a man with sinister features and a shrewd gaze. His uniform was slightly more ornate than those of the Dai Li, as though he were some sort of officer. When he spoke, it was with a smooth but guttural bass. "I see you're awake," he said, surveying his new recruit. He turned his back to Hu, and Hu saw that his long black hair was bound in a long, snakelike braid. "Your training will begin in one hour. Take the time to acclimate yourself, and then proceed down the corridor to the large cavern. You will be issued your equipment there." Hu nodded out of habit, and then, after realizing that his new superior couldn't see it, added, "Yes, sir."

As the man began to walk away, Hu spoke up again. "Sir," he said. "If you are to be training me, then I would like to know your name." Enigmatically, the braided man smiled, and it was that same cold smile that Tsao Tsai had.

"My name is Long Feng," he grated. "Welcome to Lake Laogai." With that, he turned and walked down the corridor. Hu stood there and listened to his footsteps fade out of his hearing until all that was left was a crushing silence.


	5. Chapter 5: General Iroh

**CHAPTER FIVE: GENERAL IROH**

General Iroh saw it all begin, saw that spectacular clash along the largest fortification in the world. It was the greatest bastion of resistance against his father's rule, and it had been Iroh's honor to be appointed the task of bringing it down. His eyes swept the field and he took in every sight. Watching his men fight so hard gave him a warm sense of satisfaction inside, a better feeling than the sensation of Firebending. The very thought of them all working so hard towards one goal, putting their hopes and ambitions on the same line that he put his…it was almost overwhelming. Pulling out a telescope-the latest display of Fire Nation ingenuity-he placed it to his eye and scanned along the easternmost segment of the great wall. Sure enough, he could see the stolid figure he recognized as How, now clad in a resplendent general's uniform. Jeong Jeong's information had been accurate. He would have to be sure to commend him, and ensure that that flow of information stayed regular.

His thoughts now on Jeong Jeong, he swept the glass down to see the man himself at work, watching as he circled both of his arms around and caused a colossal blast of flame to arc itself into the air and strike the battlement before spreading quickly in both directions. He could count on Jeong Jeong to get creative with his Firebending; despite his lower rank Iroh personally counted them as equals in the art, and of all his officers the one he hoped most that he would not have to face one day in _Agni Kai_.

_Well, no,_ Iroh corrected himself. _There is one other._ He adjusted his vision once more. There he was, fighting harder than all the rest of them, fighting with a ferocity that made Iroh's chest swell with fatherly pride: his beloved son and the apple of his eye, Lu Ten. Iroh had always told himself that if he could not fight this war solely for his father or for his country, then he could most certainly fight it for his son. They were making a better world, he would tell himself, and Lu Ten would get to enjoy it above all else. He imagined a day when Lu Ten would inherit the throne of Fire Lord from him, and he would be the noble ruler that this family had always needed. Sozin and Azulon were greedy and warlike, and Iroh felt his hands were too stained with blood. But while Lu Ten fought in this war, Iroh had endeavored to keep him as pristine as possible. The present was always fleeting, but the future was always on the horizon; Iroh always felt it was best to plan for it.

The rustle of a komodo rhino disturbed Iroh from his reverie, and he let the telescope fall to his side. Jeong Jeong's chief aide-de-camp, an enthusiastic youth by the name of Chen, had ridden up. The second he saw Iroh was paying attention, he straightened up in his saddle and threw a salute, which Iroh returned. "General Iroh," he said. "Commander Jeong Jeong sends his regards. He wishes me to tell you that his men are starting to tire, but they are holding strong. He wishes for one of the divisions to be relieved so that they can be refreshed."

Iroh turned to look once more at the whirlwind engagement. He could see where Jeong Jeong was coming from: as per his plan, the Earth Kingdom's forces were divided along the wall and due to their own architecture they could not easily go to reinforce each other without leaving gaping spots in their own defense. General How was easily commanding the most capable resistance-clearly, he would be a dangerous adversary in his new role on the Council of Five. So dangerous, Iroh thought, that he could not even consider letting an entire division withdraw in the sight of the defenders. It would send all manner of wrong messages, and they needed to press hard on this attack point. It was entirely possible that they could scour the parapets that day if they were able to force their way onto the wall.

"Tell Commander Jeong Jeong that his four divisions are to remain in place, and they will be reinforced shortly by an additional division." Chen nodded as he hastily wrote this down, the brush moving so fast that he was actually splattering black ink across his mount's back. When he was done, he looked up to Iroh once again, expectant of something.

"If I may be so bold, General Iroh," Chen began, "May I ask whose division?" Iroh stroked his beard a moment before he had the answer.

"Qin." He was a good officer, and though he did not like being under Jeong Jeong's command, he followed his orders to a t. No one could call him disloyal. Rumors were swirling that he was being considered for the post of War Minister, even. "I will be sending Qin's division to reinforce the position shortly. We will press the attack until sundown, at which point we will either withdraw, or should we take a segment of the wall, consolidate and fortify our position." Chen nodded, threw one more salute, and again he was off, his komodo rhinoceros leaving a trail of dust in its wake. _The ground here is so disturbed_, Iroh thought, noticing how dusty it was. The constant bending of the earth had frayed it, made it weaker. It was powdery, even beneath his booted heel.

Iroh dispatched another messenger to give Qin his marching orders, and returned his attention to the progress of the battle. He saw Lu Ten, using the wreckage of a tank as cover as he and his personal guard threw firebolts across the parapets. He saw a few lucky Firebenders force their way onto the walls and start to scramble for ground to fortify. The Earthbenders around them reacted with surprise, and so the first few fell easily, their bodies still assaulted by languishing tongues of flames. However, at once the others turned their attention inwards for a moment, and blocks of earth that had wretched themselves from the ground shot from both directions, catching those few Firebenders in the crossfire.

_If only we had Earthbenders of our own_, thought Iroh. No defensive position would be able to stand in the face of Earth and Fire united. The sun was starting to dip lower into the sky as the afternoon wore on, and not for the first time that day Iroh felt the itch for personal combat. He did not enjoy long engagements such as this siege; he did not particularly enjoy sieges, for that matter. He liked to avoid endangering the lives of innocent civilians if he could, and his own men were under strict orders to do no unnecessary harm. He normally led from the front line, not from some outcropping where he moved the units like pieces on a Pai Sho board. He had actually been ordered to lead like this by his own father, Fire Lord Azulon. He supposed it was to protect the bloodline, but it was not him. Dutiful as he was, he followed his orders, but he relished the day when he could again lead his men personally instead of issuing orders through a maze of messengers and aides.

What he need right now was some tea. Yes, that would make everything better. It would take the weight off of his shoulders and of his mind, and after one cup the path he would need to walk to lead his men to that victory that they all wanted so very much would be clear to him. He set off for his tent to retrieve some of that tea, thinking that perhaps he would write a letter as well. It had been a while since his brother's family had heard from him. Yes, tonight after the battle was over with, he would send word to his family back home. He was sure that Ursa would be delighted, as would young Zuko. With a hint of wryness, he imagined that Ozai would be the same old Ozai he'd always been, and that daughter of his would be no different. He found he took to his sister-in-law and his nephew much more easily; in Ursa he found a soul with the compassion he felt everyone should have, and Zuko reminded him so much of his own beloved son.

That was what Iroh had to keep himself going. His family. People fought these wars for glory, though they did not know what it meant. They fought for Fire Lord Azulon, though they had not met him. They fought to avenge some slights that they had probably forgotten until recently. Iroh fought for his family, so they could grow up in a better world. This one was engulfed in war, and he fought to end the conflicts, so no further generations of his family would have to.

He would squeeze Ba Sing Se. He would see to it that the walls fell, and that Fire Nation troops would march through its streets victoriously after nearly six hundred days, no matter what it took.

And he would do it all for love.


	6. Chapter 6: Hu

**CHAPTER SIX: HU**

**ONE MONTH AGO**

Hu felt a certain sense of awe as he slowly slid on his new dark green training robes. They were much heavier than they looked-apparently, they were armored. While he adjusted to the weight, he laid his hands on a nearby wall and through Earthbending let his hands slide into it. He withdrew them after a moment, and they were now clad in gauntlets made of rock. They were a bit cruder than the ones full-fledged agents used so much, but Hu figured that he would hone this ability as time went on. He had heard of the Dai Li doing some truly spectacular feats of Earthbending with such simple weapons, and he was eager to share in this tradition.

Now equipped, he made his way down the next corridor. It ended in a solid rock wall, but Hu could sense it was hollow on the other side. He stomped his foot on the ground and the wall instantly crumbled away. Immediately, the light became more intense-the room was huge, it seemed. As he stuck his head through the doorway, he saw his suspicions were correct. It was a massive cavern, and the that lined the walls refracted light through huge deposits of glinting green crystal. In the center of this cavern, roughly twenty or so men, clad exactly as he was, milled uncertainly. Hu made his way over to the cluster, and though some caught his eye, none of them said a word. Clearly, they were as anxious as he was.

They waited for another three minutes, and in that time a few more recruits wandered through the door, one by one. But after very little waiting, Long Feng himself strode into the cavern, and the exit closed itself after him. He faced his new recruits. "Stand at attention," he barked, but strangely his voice did not echo. Immediately, everyone scrambled to stand straight up, still as a painting, their hands behind their backs as they had seen the Dai Li do so many times. Long Feng looked at them as they did this, and slowly shook his head.

"As members of the Dai Li, you are all that stands between the safety and peace of Ba Sing Se and the chaos of the outer world. It is our mission to protect the city from those disruptive elements and maintaining order for all. As such," he continued, "you must all act as a unit, as one. When you come to attention, I expect you to do so in perfect unison. Failure to do so will have me demanding it of you again. Do you understand?" He did not wait for any response from his men. "At ease. Attention."

It took them thirty-six tries before Long Feng was sufficiently satisfied to continue. At first, he would merely call them to attention, put them at ease, and call them to it again. However, as the group became more unified, he became more ruthless. He started singling out those whose actions he found particularly discordant, and showed only the greatest disdain for them when they failed him. It was to their immense relief when he finally gave a curt nod and instead said nothing. They were all standing evenly spaced from each other, eyes straight forward, all of them trying their hardest not to blink.

"There are twenty-four of you in this unit," Long Feng lectured. "You will all learn to act as a as one in everything you do. In combat, in surveillance, in any number of tasks you may be called upon to complete as a member of the Dai Li, you will always act for the sake of the unit, just as you must always act for the sake of the greater whole: Ba Sing Se." To Hu, this made sense. They had to always be thinking of the greater good. "In the line of duty," he continued, "you will be called upon to do things that you may find questionable. Anything the Dai Li does, it does for the good of Ba Sing Se, and it is done without any second-guessing. You will follow orders, and though you are many, you will all enact them as one."

"Now, then. Assume combat stance." Hu knew in his stomach that this would be a long affair. Sure enough, each of the new recruits had their own personal stance, each with its own quirks. That same look of scorn crossed Long Feng's face as he watched them all slide into Earthbending stance. He gestured, and immediately all of the recruits came back to attention. This time, Hu noted, they did stand together. They were learning. They had changed. They were one step closer to becoming unified. And now, Long Feng was showing them the next step.

"Again."

Hu did not know how long he had been underground in Lake Laogai. It could have been a few days, or it could have been weeks. They were forced to sleep at odd times during their 'day': one of his fellow recruits supposed it was so that as Dai Li agents they could function well at any hour they were called upon. Long Feng was a brutal instructor, but he was intelligent and very shrewd. He seemed to have the uncanny ability to get into the minds of his men and know exactly how to push them closer to the goal he held over them. He was, in fact, terrifying and inspirational at once. There was no doubt in Hu's mind that Long Feng's teachings would go a long way into making them expert operatives.

Hu was roused on this particular "morning" with the announcement that was spreading through Lake Laogai like wildfire-_Tsao Tsai was coming to inspect them_. Looking beside his bed, Hu saw a new set of clothes laid out for him-a folded green-and-gold robe with a wide-brimmed hat placed atop it. Knowing what this meant, he was quick to slide them on, marveling at the fact that they fit him perfectly. He felt like he had just crossed a major threshold in his life, and he was now eager to embrace his new destiny. _And to think_, he mused. _I could have wasted my life away as a mere palace guard_.

He hurried to the corridor where he saw his fellow recruits all ready walking, lined up perfectly in two columns. He joined up on the end just as another joined the opposite column. Several others linked up with them, until they were at their full strength just as they reached the entrance to the cavern. The leading pair crouched into their horse stance and gestured identically, and an entrance wide enough to accommodate the entire company opened itself. Dramatically, the first two stood to attention, and as one the company filed in, so in synch that each of their footsteps blended together to become one. Tsao Tsai was there, Long Feng at his side. Hu's nerves fluttered a little as he saw the other individual beside Tsao Tsai: Guardmaster Xing. This entire time, Xing had been working intimately with the Dai Li? Hu never would have guessed, and he was willing to wager that no one else would have, either, given the man's public disdain for them.

They stopped and turned on the spot, facing their three superiors. Their hats were pulled low to shade their eyes, their figures stock-still. Tsao Tsai stroked his beard thoughtfully as he looked at them, while they all waited on tenterhooks. At last, he gave a slow nod of approval. It was different from Long Feng's: he seemed more detached from the scene, as though they had just finished some bothersome chore rather than having accomplished something. "Dai Li," he said tersely. "Execute pattern Tiger Snatches Prey." Without any hesitation, the unit went into action. Hu knew so much about Tiger Snatches Prey-a maneuver designed to forcibly part a crowd so a specific target could be grabbed from their midst-but none of that came to mind right now. He was moving on pure instinct, through a form he now had ingrained in his muscle memory by rote.

Immediately, the unit split in half, each running for an opposite wall. As they reached their walls, they continued to climb up them, completely level with each other. At once, they all thrust their arms out, and at a spot directly centered between them, a hollow, square column of earth raised itself. Simultaneously, they all yanked their arms back, and the four walls split off from each other, each one heading directly for a wall and getting bigger the further away it got from the point of origin. The rock walls would part even the thickest crowd. In the face of this cascade of moving earth, there was not a thing that could stand.

Even before the rock walls had finished their course, the first three in each group leapt down from the wall. Four of them landed at the corners of their imaginary square, while the other two landed opposite each other. At once, they each fired off their metal handcuffs, imprisoning their imaginary target. The four Dai Li at the corners stomped their feet, and the "prisoner" and his two captors sank into the ground, completely disappearing from sight. The four corner Dai Li leapt back to their walls, and as one the remaining twenty-two Dai Li slunk off into the shadows of the cavern. There was a dead silence. After a suitable pause, the two other Dai Li emerged from the ground where they had disappeared. At once, the unit reformed as the wallwalkers leapt to the ground and immediately stood to. The maneuver was complete.

It was as though Hu's consciousness was suddenly flooding back to him after that out-of-body experience. He had performed Tiger Snatches Prey, but he had not even thought about it while doing so; he had just done it. Now, he could collect himself and reflect on how flawlessly he executed his technique, how expertly he scaled the wall, and how adroitly he had captured their target. Tsao Tsai stroked his beard still, appraising his new recruits. There were hints of smugness traced in Long Feng's face, but Xing did not even try to hide how impressed he was: his eyes were wide, his mouth open.

At long last, Tsao Tsai nodded. "They are up to standard," he said, almost dismissively. A small pang of umbrage stung Hu's thoughts. How could their leader trivialize them so? But he did not let this show on his face. Tsao Tsai turned to go, Xing following him.

"You should inspect more often, Secretariat," Long Feng suggested to his superior. "The new training programs I have instituted are producing exponentially better results than ever before." Tsao Tsai stopped and turned on the spot.

"I don't need to spend my time here," he replied. "That's what I have you for. After all, you volunteered for the job." He turned again, his robes sweeping behind him, and soon both he and Guardmaster Xing were out of sight.

As he dismissed the newly-promoted Dai Li, there was more than a glimmer of annoyance in Long Feng's voice…


	7. Chapter 7: Jeong Jeong

**CHAPTER SEVEN: JEONG JEONG**

Caked in mud, sweat, and ash, Jeong Jeong sat down at long last as the sun was disappearing under the horizon. It had been a long day filled with all manner of fighting, and he was as tired as he had ever been during this campaign. He had followed General Iroh's orders, and he had followed them closely. He had not given General How a moment to rest the entire day, and considering the scale of their engagement they had actually suffered minimal losses for their efforts. The soldier in Jeong Jeong told him that it had been a good day.

"Well met, Commander Jeong Jeong," a noble voice rang out. He lifted his head and saw the figure of Prince Lu Ten striding towards him, a smile so like his father's across his face. Jeong Jeong inclined his head low; the best he could do for a bow while sitting like this.

"Prince Lu Ten," he replied, by way of greeting. "You fought well today. You make our Nation proud." The prince only grinned more widely at this.

"Coming from one my father holds in such high esteem, that means the world. May I sit?" Jeong Jeong extended his hand in a welcoming fashion, and the prince sat down across from him, a fire pit in between them. Gently, Jeong Jeong breathed in and then exhaled, and a sheet of flame blew from his mouth onto the waiting logs. They started to burn slowly, white smoke spiraling up in tiny plumes.

"I have to give it to those Earth Kingdom soldiers," Lu Ten continued. "They are quite tenacious. It's been a real challenge, dislodging them." Jeong Jeong nodded.

"Yes," he agreed. "We are nearing on two years that this siege has worn on, and we have not yet penetrated their outer wall." He thought for a moment, hesitant to say the words that were on his mind and caught in his throat. "Sometimes," he continued slowly, carefully choosing his words, "I question the wisdom of attacking here." Lu Ten raised his eyebrow a little, quizzical.

"What do you mean?"

"We have before us an impregnable fortress," Jeong Jeong explained. "Two years' worth of fighting and we have not yet gained entry to it. The amount of resources we are spending on this place…it's downright wasteful. We all but control the countryside, and the only significant bastions of resistance are here and in Omashu."

"But if we take control of Ba Sing Se, we will have a staging point for the rest of our campaign," Lu Ten countered. "And what's more, we will have the Earth King. Surely the Earth Kingdom will not stand without their leader to guide them."

"Think about what you've seen over the months, my prince," Jeong Jeong said, careful to keep his tone respectful. "In all our engagements, have you ever seen the Earth King? Have you ever seen him lead his people the way our rulers do us? We haven't seen the Earth King," he continued, answering his own question. "No one of the Fire Nation has. The vast majority of the Earth Kingdom goes their entire lives without hearing from him or seeing him." Lu Ten seemed to be working this out in his head, unsure of whether to agree with him or not. "If we left Ba Sing Se alone, the troops within would never venture outside of its walls. We could consolidate our power in any other part of the country. In every other part of the country, even. If we left Ba Sing Se alone, never in one thousand years would they bother us."

"So, you do not wish to fight here, then?" Lu Ten asked guardedly. Here was where they tread on hot coals. Jeong Jeong did not want to seem a traitor, but he still felt that he should not suppress any grievances he might have.

"No matter what I may wish," he began, "I will do whatever my country asks of me. But no," he continued, "I believe that we could be spending our resources more wisely. Besides," he added, "the men have grown tired after fighting for so long. They, like me, will fight until they can no longer walk, but there is a point when the line must be drawn." There was a long silence after Jeong Jeong spoke; the fire was crackling merrily now and it was the only noise between them. At last, Lu Ten mercifully broke the silence.

"You have been wanting to tell that to someone for a long time." He wasn't being accusatory. He wasn't really being much of anything. He was stating the fact as it was.

"Yes."

"Well then," Lu Ten said, "you have my complete respect, Commander Jeong Jeong. There are officers who believe so completely in this that they never stop to think about why they are doing it, but they fight like cowards, if they fight at all. For one who is unsure of his actions, you fight splendidly." That same smile was back, but Jeong Jeong wasn't entirely sure of its sincerity. "My father always taught me to appreciate honesty from those around me, because it was so hard to come by. By showing me honesty, you have done me a great service." Jeong Jeong shrugged, trying to play it off as casual.

"It was no trouble at all," he said. "Honesty is what one's fellows deserves." He was actually rather pleased with his own eloquence, though he wondered why he made himself speak in such a stilted manner around the prince while he could speak so easily and freely to General Iroh. Lu Ten rose to his feet. "Going so soon, Prince Lu Ten?" Jeong Jeong asked. He nodded.

"I have to see to my men. I will see you later, I have no doubt. Until then, may your fires burn bright."

"And may yours never go out," Jeong Jeong returned. They saluted each other, and then Lu Ten was off, walking down the path towards his own camp and leaving Jeong Jeong to his own thoughts. He didn't have much time to spend alone with them, however; Chen, his aide, was approaching. "At ease, Chen," Jeong Jeong said before the youth could even offer a salute. Nonetheless, Chen saluted and then let himself fall at ease.

"I merely come to see how you are feeling," he said. Jeong Jeong did not know whether to be appreciative or annoyed by his aide's concern. "I know you were not pleased to have Qin put into your attack force this afternoon." A slight scowl formed on Jeong Jeong's features. Qin, that by-the-book fool. He knew every troop maneuver by heart, practical or not, but he would never stray from them for any reason. He could be relied upon, but he was more than reliable; he was downright predictable. Jeong Jeong had wanted only four divisions because he could successfully ration off his force against the bastions of the wall with that many troops. Rather than allowing a division to retire, Iroh had merely sent along another division-a division commanded by a fool eager for glory. That was perhaps the angriest Jeong Jeong had ever been with Iroh-how could the man be so blind to Jeong Jeong's needs?

"I am feeling better," he replied in a tone that did not lend itself well to long conversation. Chen seemed to get the hint. He bowed and turned to go. However, he did not go very far.

"Chen," Jeong Jeong called out. The aide-de-camp turned around.

"Yes, Commander Jeong Jeong?" The expression on Jeong Jeong's face softened.

"Thank you for asking." Chen bowed again, a smile on his face this time, and as he walked off to go play Pai Sho with the other men, Jeong Jeong saw that he was truly at ease. Were it that I could be as pleased with things so easily, he thought. But he let his troubles roll off his back as he basked in the glow of the fire. Tomorrow would be another day, and in that day there was no telling what he would accomplish.


	8. Chapter 8: Qin

**CHAPTER EIGHT: QIN**

"Today was a disaster," Qin cried angrily, pounding his palm on General Iroh's table. Iroh closed his eyes, unable to hide his annoyance with his subordinate's negative attitude. He massaged his temples with his thumb and forefinger, but Qin was not moved by this display of fatigue.

"Commander Qin." He spoke in measured tones, with that strange lulling effect his voice had. "You know that I respect your opinion. But if you cannot express it in a more dignified manner, I will have you removed from my presence." It wasn't a threat, but Qin, incensed as he was, took it as such. Remove him! As though he were some lowly footslogger, complaining that his boots' soles were too thin? Inwardly, Qin laughed scornfully at the thought, but he let himself slacken slightly, pushing his seething anger inward and out of sight. When he spoke again, it was in a smoother manner.

"My apologies, General Iroh," he began. "I merely wish to convey my displeasure about the day's developments and the command style of Commander Jeong Jeong."

"My son was just in here, talking to me about him," Iroh said easily. "He was very complimentary."

"That may be," Qin continued, his patience tested, "but I am not your son, General Iroh. The man does not know how to lead, and his attempt to capture the wall today was a complete failure because of his shortcomings as a soldier." Iroh merely stared at him, a thoughtful look on his face. That irked Qin more than anything. How could he sit there and be as calm as he was? He had seen what Qin had seen, and yet he seemed to think the day a success! It brooked on foolishness, but Qin was quick to rein in those thoughts. No matter what he thought, he could not forget he was addressing the first and favored son of the Fire Lord. When he was War Minister, as he was so certain he would be, he could say what he would, but for now…for now he had to play the game.

"He is too cautious," Qin said, launching into his tirade again. "He held off his strength today, he deliberately gave the Earthbenders an easy time of it. There were chances, opportunities where we could have stormed the wall and captured it then and there, but because of his refusal to take the risk, we instead had to content ourselves with meaningless wall fighting that merely got our men killed."

"I would think," Iroh said, responding at last, "that rashly attempting to force our way onto the wall through brute force would have cost more lives still, Commander Qin."

"But to a far better purpose than what these ones were lost to." Qin's reply came as quickly as a fire-viper striking. "The big picture, General Iroh. We lose a few score, perhaps a few hundred extra lives now, but years from now, us having taken Ba Sing Se that much more quickly will pay off immensely through the manpower we will have saved by not dragging out this engagement." Under his words, a finger pointed, but Qin didn't care to be subtle. How could all of them but him be so blind to the grand scheme here? _Well_, he thought, _perhaps that's why the Fire Lord is considering me as War Minister while he lets these dogs slog in the trenches_.

"I see no reason to do as you have suggested and strip Commander Jeong Jeong of his rank," Iroh answered evenly. "There may come a day when you will appreciate Jeong Jeong's way of thinking, and there may come a day where he will appreciate yours." Qin immediately dismissed this notion in his head. He would never be like that hack, letting his heart cloud decisions his superior mind could make in an instant. "I will have to ask that you two live and work alongside each other in the meantime. Very shortly, I could have you transferred to another tour if you so wish," he offered. Qin shook his head.

"I will not abandon this fight for any reason," he declared emphatically, and the candles in Iroh's tent burned a little brighter in that second.

"Good," Iroh replied. "Then you and I see eye to eye on that, at least." The old man was attempting to play this all off as a joke. He wasn't taking Qin seriously at all. That was a huge affront to Qin's pride, and he rose, color and heat rushing to his cheeks and forehead.

"If you do not intend to do anything about it, General Iroh," he said, his voice deadly serious, "Then I will." With that, he stormed out of the tent, his hackles raised and his hands clenched into fists. All the men stayed back from him, as they well should have: it was the soldier's lot in life to fear and respect his leader. Jeong Jeong could say what he wished about empathy, but in Qin's experience it was far from necessary. War was a game of numbers and statistics, not feelings. Feelings were for women, for traitors. A soldier's heart had no place for feelings, and Qin was a soldier, through and through.

That was the problem in this army. They refused to think of the future. Qin was a natural futurist. He saw a world where wars were not fought between men and men, but men and machines. Hints of this were starting to crop up in the Fire military's tactics and bestiary-had their new tanks not been used to great effect that very day? But those currently in power were people like Iroh and Jeong Jeong. They had been brilliant in their own time, but the world was changing. Their refusal to change with it frustrated Qin to absolutely no end. The world was inevitably sweeping towards the future, and Qin would be the only wise one to embrace it openly and whole-heartedly.

He found Jeong Jeong sitting in front of a fire, staring into it with his eyes glassed over like some slack-jawed fool. Without even bothering to look up, the Commander sighed. "What do you want?" he asked resignedly. Dramatically, Qin pointed his finger at his personal adversary.

"Jeong Jeong," he said breathily as anticipation built inside of him, "today you have shown what I believe to be conduct unbecoming of a soldier of the Fire Nation. For this, I challenge you to _Agni Kai_!" He was breathing somewhat hard now. "What say you?" There was no hesitation.

"I refuse," Jeong Jeong said. Qin's eyes widened in anger.

"On what grounds do you refuse, coward?" he demanded.

"You are drunk." Qin's mouth twitched.

"I most certainly am not!" Jeong Jeong reached down to his side, and pulled out a small flask. He unscrewed the top, and then took the meanest of sips from it.

"Fine," he said. "Now I am." He held out the flask, almost mockingly, as though offering Qin something to drink. Incensed, Qin lashed out and slapped the flask from his hand. It hit the dirt with a dull _thunk_ and some of its contents spilled onto the dirt. Jeong Jeong's hand was still extended, though he was no longer holding his flask. For the first time, Jeong Jeong raised his head to look at his adversary, and the baleful stare that Qin saw almost made him take a step back in surprise. He rose with the deliberate motion of one very much in control of his own actions, to the point where he even looked deadly.

"I refuse your _Agni Kai_," he said dangerously, "on the grounds that you have no grounds to challenge me on. If you have any further business with me, then I suggest you air your grievances now, because otherwise I have more important matters to attend to." Qin's teeth were clenched so tightly his jaw was shaking, and his brow was furrowed. Yet, he did nothing. He stood there seething, anger swelling and stopping his throat and his muscles, tainting his vision red as he saw Jeong Jeong turn scornfully and walk away. Suddenly, so overcome by hate as he was, he stomped his foot into the ground, causing a shower of sparks and flame to flare out and die as quickly as they'd come into being.

"For once in your career, stand your ground and fight!" he bellowed. Jeong Jeong stopped cold, and slowly turned around. No longer daunted, Qin dropped into his fighting stance, a move so natural that it was second nature to him. A hush fell over the camp as the soldiers realized that two of their superiors were having a falling out, and the men began to tentatively circle up around the two, forming an impromptu ring. Jeong Jeong looked to his left, and then to his right. Then, he bowed his head. _Let him bow_, Qin thought. So much the easier to hit him…

He lashed out savagely with his arm, beating the air like he would a prisoner and sending a jet of flame screaming towards the man he hated so much…


	9. Chapter 9: Jeong Jeong

**CHAPTER NINE: JEONG JEONG**

The flame seared through the air, but Jeong Jeong's hand whipped out, palm held open, and struck the flame to the side where it hit some brush and quickly lit up. The venerable commander and Firebending master turned around slowly, and there was the gleam of battle in his eyes again as he settled his gaze upon the figure of Commander Qin.

Jeong Jeong was far from pleased, but whatever annoyance or anger he felt, it was clear that Qin felt at a much higher level. _Qin_, he thought, _this was by far the stupidest thing you could have possibly done_. He didn't want to do this. He knew, without the slightest shred of arrogance, that Qin was far outmatched. Qin had gotten to his current position because he had known the right people. Jeong Jeong was a true veteran who had fought his way up to his rank. His road to power had been (regrettably) soaked in the blood of Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe soldiers. But at the moment, Qin seemed to be disregarding their histories and appeared to think his anger would carry him through this. Jeong Jeong knew he was wrong. He was angry, too, but his anger was cold; he could use it. Qin's anger was hot, and it used him.

Qin kicked high into the air, sending a crescent of flame spinning towards Jeong Jeong. The master merely took one step to the side and thrust out his open palm. The fire washed around him as though he were a stone in a river and then dissipated. However, it was what Qin needed to close the distance. Jeong Jeong leaned to the side, neatly avoiding a flaming punch from Qin. He grabbed Qin's outstretched wrist and wrenched the arm behind his back. As he wrenched the arm further up and he felt Qin struggle futilely, he brought back his hand and jabbed it, snakehead, into his foe's lower back, at a major junction of chi flow. He twisted his hand as he thrust, and he listened as Qin cried out in pain. Nonetheless Qin stomped his foot, sending a jet of flame backwards. Jeong Jeong had no choice but to let go to avoid it, deftly springing back a few feet. Breathing hard, Qin turned to face him once more, his hands shaking.

"You fight without honor," he spat.

"And you without brains," Jeong Jeong countered. With a grunt, Qin threw himself forward with a crescent kick, but Jeong Jeong ducked underneath it and swept Qin's remaining leg from underneath him. Before Qin had even hit the ground, Jeong Jeong's foot was on his chest, shoving him firmly there. The fallen Commander stirred, but he was stayed by the shift of Jeong Jeong's foot from his chest to his neck. Qin felt the foot start to grow warm to his touch. Every instinct implored Jeong Jeong to strike out, to finish Qin once and for all, and he was so very tempted to. He could feel that hunger, the insatiable need to strike.

But he did not.

"Now, while I have you down there, I hope you will listen," he started. "As much as your honor might demand it, I am not going to kill you here and now. I have great disdain for your actions." The pressure eased off of Qin's throat; Jeong Jeong had withdrawn his foot. "However, I cannot deny that you are a devoted soldier. But notice how I defeated you without summoning a single tongue of flame, and how easily you can be defeated when you lose control." Jeong Jeong turned, not even bothering to see Qin get up. "As I said, Commander Qin, I have more important things to attend to. As you were." He stalked off, the throngs of soldiers parting before him as they whispered frantically. He had much to think about.

After a short walk, he came upon the banks of the nearby lake, colloquially known as the Serpent's Pass. Kneeling down upon the bank, he cupped his hands and lifted some water to his lips and drank deeply. The water was sweet, and after the long day of fighting it was more refreshing than any other draught he had tasted. Cupping his hands again, he threw this handful into his face, and he felt his senses sharpen as the cold assaulted his skin, and the shock was pleasing to him.

Sitting down upon the bank, he gathered his thoughts once more. The sound of the water gently lapping the shore was infinitely more soothing to his ears than the low growl of the campfires. It managed to lull him a little in his sense of unease. He was uneasy. Indeed, he would even consider himself a haunted man. He was not plagued by spirits as many would associate haunting with. Rather, he was haunted by himself.

Every morning, he awoke with that sense of optimism that the day would be good. He did his best to lower himself to the level of his own men to foster unity and loyalty. He would fight for the day, and when he retired for the night he would have no trace of that optimism left. He knew the Fire Nation was sweeping across the entire world and claiming victory at every turn. However, he also felt as though he were losing his own personal war. Every victory he claimed seemed hollow. Even the defeat of his rival, Qin, had done little to grant him any satisfaction. If anything, his own heart had scared him. He had wanted to hurt Qin, had wanted to cause him harm out of pure spite. Jeong Jeong did not hold back, but cruelty was not his way. Even now, he felt some remorse for losing his cool. The rational leader would have merely walked away. In that sense, it had been Jeong Jeong who had lost.

Looking up, he set his sights over to that massive sight in the distance: the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. He saw its sheer face every day, but very rarely was he able to appreciate its majesty without the chaos of battle distracting him. It was huge, and a faint green light seemed to radiate from within, casting a greenish shadow around the whole area. "It must be nice," he said to no one in particular, "to have those walls to hide behind." Before the philospher in his mind could think too much further on it, the soldier in him started analyzing it, and came to the same conclusion it always had: this was an impractical battle. Even if they managed to take the wall, Ba Sing Se was such a vast city that the Fire Nation could never bring it to heel quickly enough to quash any hopes of an insurrection. And that was assuming they were able to bring the city to heel to begin with. In his mind, it would have been so much more practical to place an encampent on the main roads to Ba Sing Se, cutting it off from the rest of the Earth Kingdom. It would be as if the great city had vanished off of the face of the world.

That won't happen, though, Jeong Jeong thought soberly. And since it wouldn't, he had no choice but to do his best with the current situation. He would not transfer to another war zone, not when General Iroh so often professed that he was sorely needed. And though he sometimes played with the idea of just running away from it all, he knew he would not do that, either. He was loyal to General Iroh, and he was loyal to the Fire Nation. Those two things alone were enough to stop him from running anywhere except headlong into the next fray.

After an hour or so of examining his lot in life, he felt sufficiently calmed to stand up and return to camp. As he started that walk back, he found that he was the most relaxed he'd been all day. Sitting in the dark, tossing stones into the lake…they were simple pleasures that a man like Jeong Jeong could not often afford. However, after a day like this one, he felt as though he deserved it rather richly. But his hours' vacation was spent. When he walked into that cluster of tents, he would have to go back to being the officer his uniform told the world he was, and again his mind would turn to nothing but plans and strategy. Even his actions of kindness to his men would be nothing more than calculated gestures, meant to get the best response possible out of them.

Or, not. He did care about his men. And what was more, he cared about them as individuals, not just because he needed them to win this war. There were some that would have given up anything to be here, but due to the draft, Jeong Jeong knew that there were others who wanted nothing better than to be back in the Fire Nation, plying whatever trade they were in. Those men, he pitied most of all. They were part of a world that was not of their making, but that they would have to live in regardless.

Commander Jeong Jeong slept well that night; it had been a tiring day and he deserved it.


	10. Chapter 10: Hu

**CHAPTER TEN: HU**

**ONE WEEK AGO**

Perched upon a rooftop in the lower ring, Hu could see everything for miles. It was just like those poor down there to make their buildings so low to the ground; it was like their thinking. Though functional, it lacked vision or ambition. The people were low to the ground as well; almost none of them ever looked up. Dai Li agents flitted in and out of this sector invisibly, all because none of them thought for even a moment that something might be there if they craned their necks upwards.

Hu had been on the job for two days. From what he'd gathered, he'd been beneath Lake Laogai for a full three weeks. He was in disbelief; the way Long Feng had trained them, it felt like months had passed. He supposed that the training was merely the first part of it; experience would fill in much of the rest. But Hu had learned things that were far more important than how to execute any given maneuver. His eyes had been opened to the knife edge that Ba Sing Se teetered on. To ensure order, certain compromises had to be made. He followed suspicious characters. He was under orders to report any mentions of the war. For the first time in his life, he had full appreciation for the shadow war the Dai Li waged against the chaotic elements present inside and outside of the city.

He had been on surveillance duty, and he expected that he probably would be for a while. He had to agree that it would have been rather foolish to entrust missions of a more sensitive nature to brand new recruits. He eagerly waited for when he could do more for Ba Sing Se than turn in his observation notes at the end of the day, but for now he was accepting of his fate. As a palace guard, he had been standing there, letting his mind wander while he defended something that couldn't be hurt. Here, he was actually doing good, and that was all he'd ever wanted to do with himself.

Besides, at least he were surveying someone interesting. The man Hu was watching was a cabbage merchant, but his past was somewhat dodgy. According to his file, there were rumors of high-placed connections he had in Omashu, and that was worth looking into. One could never tell if crazy Bumi might just do something stupid and challenge the Earth King. Even as Hu was thinking on this, something suspicious seemed to leap out in his frame of vision suddenly. A man in a military uniform nonchalantly passed by the cabbage merchant. As he passed by, he picked up what appeared to be an envelope that had just been sitting on the merchant's counter and pocketed it in one smooth motion. Hu nudged his partner, Shin, and pointed. "Did you see that?" he asked. Shin nodded.

"I will continue surveillance of the merchant," he said. "Follow the officer." Hu nodded, and deftly leapt to the next rooftop, heading in the direction of the officer. He noted the direction they were heading in: towards the inner rings of the city. Hu found that be interesting. If he was not heading towards the wall, then that meant he served an officer of considerable rank. Immediately, Hu's interest was piqued. He could be onto something. Taking care to tread carefully, he jumped from roof to roof, not losing his suspect. Twice, the man stopped and looked behind him to make sure he was not being followed. More than anything, that spelled out guilt to Hu. An innocent man wouldn't care if he were being followed or not.

Hu noticed they were coming up on one of Ba Sing Se's many train stations. Slipping from the rooftop, he kept to the shadows. This far away from the upper ring, the Dai Li were not as common, and he would draw attention if he just walked through the crowd. He watched as the man flashed a badge of identification, and got on without bothering to pay for a ticket. This confirmed Hu's suspicions that the man served someone important. However, there were multiple stops in the upper ring, and Hu had no way of contacting his brethren there to instruct them to watch the train stations. He would have to keep following, but it would have require some creativity on his part.

Reaching into his robes, he pulled out one of the emerald signal flares that the Dai Li were issued to mark out targets. If applied heat slowly, they would produce a bright, long-lasting light. _But_, Hu thought as his eyes fell upon a tea cart, _if they were exposed to a stronger heat source…_

No one in the area could quite explain why the tea cart exploded. Obviously, something had happened to its stove, but no one knew why a simple wood fire would rupture so violently. But while every head turned at the sight and noise of that green explosion, not one of them noticed as a lone Dai Li agent jumped from the station roof onto the waiting train, nor how he bent up the roof's stone to conceal his presence. It was as though he wasn't even there.

After precisely sixteen stops, the train lurched to a halt yet again, and Hu's eyes were riveted on the doors of the compartment three cars over. His eyes scanned the crowd, and with a start he saw his mark exiting the car. In the dark of the station, he was not noticed as he leapt from the car's roof to the station ceiling. Crawling like a true professional, he slunk to a window and perched himself atop the gutter. His vision fanned the crowd of disembarking passengers, and after a moment his eyes found his target. His legs, stiff from crouching atop the train, shoved off and he felt the earth beneath him push back like a springboard, and he gracefully somersaulted through the air and onto the next roof…

…Right next to a Dai Li agent. The agent turned immediately. "You are out of your jurisdiction, agent Hu," he said curtly. Hu kept surprise from showing on his face, but he was indeed surprised; how on Earth had this stranger known all of that by just looking at him? Clearly, there were things that Long Feng hadn't taught them, no doubt so they could learn them through experience. Standing up straight, Hu gave his report.

"Have tailed suspicious target from the lower ring," Hu reported by rote. "Am under orders to continue surveillance." The agent nodded, a gesture that Hu knew to mean "Proceed". With a returned nod, Hu rushed off the roof, letting the stone propel his feet like earthen wings.

The upper ring had been specially constructed to make the work of the Dai Li easier: scalloped roofs, plenty of shade, large amounts of ambient earth. All of the elegant construction served the double purpose of providing hiding spots, choke points, and an elaborate maze of shortcuts that allowed the fleet of foot to easily get from one end of the ring to the other in seemingly impossible amounts of time. Glad to be able to take advantage of this, Hu found it much easier to keep up with his mark. There were even less people around, so he could track his target that much more easily. And even if Hu were discovered conducting his surveillance, the presence of the Dai Li was normal in the upper ring. This man, whoever he was, was in Hu's domain now, and the pieces were all set against him.

They had bypassed the financial district and were now in the military quarter. All manner of high-ranking officers had villas here: more than just houses, these were opulent affairs that could have perhaps been small palaces in a lesser city. Hu could sense they were close to the end now; after a two-hour chase it was something of a welcome relief.

The villa that the man stopped at was decorated with an ornate golden seal on its front door. Immediately, Hu's senses flared. That meant that this villa belonged to one of the Council of Five. Each of them had a different animal on their seal: the Snake, the Tiger, the Dragon, the Leopard, or the Crane. With the door open, Hu could not see what animal was emblazoned on its face. However, after a short conversation with one of the guards outside the man disappeared through the door, and the guards followed him, pulling the door closed behind them and no doubt locking it. Hu's eyes widened once more as his gaze fell upon the seal. This was the home of the Tiger General.

The venerable General Weng.


	11. Chapter 11: Guardmaster Xing

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: XING**

**ONE WEEK AGO**

"General Weng, lieutenant?" Long Feng nodded gravely, and slid a file across the table to Xing.

"You do not want to open that here, Guardmaster Xing," the oily Dai Li advised. "It contains very sensitive information and would best be opened in the privacy of your own home." Xing stopped himself from opening it and paging through it, and instead he slid the file onto the bench next to him and out of sight. They were sitting at a corner table in an exclusive restaurant in the upper ring, but even so Xing was wary of eavesdroppers. Long Feng had assured him that they would not be disturbed or interrupted, but Xing had dealt enough with these slippery Dai Li types to know exactly how dependable they could be.

Long Feng leaned in. "The servant of General Weng made suspicious contact with a man known to be a rogue element. Despite his status, he has suspiciously well-placed connections back in Omashu, where he hails from. We can assume, then," Long Feng continued, "that he is acting as an intermediary for these interests in Omashu, and apparently they are having covert dealings with General Weng." There was something very persuasive about the way he spoke. It wasn't so much what he was saying; it was just how he sounded while he was saying it. But though Xing found it suspicious, he wasn't entirely convinced.

"While I agree that it is suspicious for Weng's servant to be associating with such a man," Xing began, "we have not yet seen any evidence that Weng is plotting anything. He is all ready one of the most powerful people in Ba Sing Se. He is the Tiger General, head of the Council of Five, and one of the people closest to the Earth King himself. Only myself and Secretariat Tsao Tsai are as close. What could Weng possibly have to gain from this?" A certain look of triumph crossed Long Feng's face, as though he had been expecting this question.

"Power," Long Feng said. "You said it yourself. He is on equal standing with you, head of the palace guard, and Tsao Tsai, leader of the Dai Li. However, has Weng not always been very vocal about the prominence the military deserved in state affairs? Has he not demonstrated some dislike in the past towards you and your station?" Xing knew this much to be true. Weng was a militarist, that was for sure. If the Earth King listened to everything he said, it would be the Earth Kingdom invading the Fire Nation, and not the other way around. It was a miracle they'd persuaded him to not mention the war in the presence of the Earth King, citing his tender age and giving assurances that he would be informed when he was old enough.

"If this is an issue of such grave concern," Xing countered, "then why have you not informed Tsao Tsai? If this concerns him, as you say, it would be important for him to know." Long Feng shook his head. Clearly, he'd expected this question, too. Xing wondered exactly how much of this conversation the man had played out in his head before he'd arranged for this meeting.

"Tsao Tsai would not deal with the situation with the subtlety it deserves," came his silky reply. "You know he would be the first one to dispatch a kill team to Weng's villa. This requires careful attention and a delicate touch. No, I can only put my trust in you, Xing. Tsao Tsai is undepenedable and Weng can no longer be trusted, leaving you as sole guardian to the Earth King's welfare that Ba Sing Se can count on." At long last, Xing was convinced. He wasn't convinced of everything, but Long Feng made a strong case for the urgency of the situtation, and Xing didn't really see what there was to argue.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Go about your normal business," Long Feng answered, "of protecting the Earth King. Do your best to stop either Tsao Tsai or General Weng from meeting with him, if you can. The less his Majesty knows about this, the better. We wouldn't want him to worry about something of such enormity at such a young age." Xing couldn't help but feel sorry for their Earth King. His father, the previous Earth King, had died when the incumbent was only four years old, and he had inherited an unhappy kingdom, beset as it was by the war with the Fire Nation. Now, the very thought of his closest advisors turning against him...it was almost sickening. Xing did not like Long Feng very much, but he seemed earnest enough. Xing would be doing this for the sake of the Earth King.

"I will do this," Xing agreed. "But let me warn you, Long Feng. If I find out that this is some trick, all of your elite operatives will not be able to stop me from exacting my own brand of vengeance." Either nothing could perturb the man, or else he was just not moved by the threat, because Long Feng merely gave that smirk of his, and then nodded.

"Of course. Do not worry, Guardmaster Xing," he assuaged. "You have nothing to worry about." He got up.

"Not staying?" Xing said mildly.

"I have a few other matters I must attend to," Long Feng said. "This is not the only house on fire in Ba Sing Se, as it were."

"Of course," Xing said curtly. That air of urgency was immediately dispelled, and they were back to strictly business associates. "May the ground be firm beneath your feet."

"And yours, Guardmaster Xing." He turned, his braid snaking behind his head like a jet-black whip, and he was gone. Xing noticed that as he left, several other patrons, seemingly normal bystanders, got up slowly, exiting one by one. This place had been crawling with Dai Li agents, and Xing had not even known it despite all of his experience. They got more and more devious every year, and he had no doubt that the low levels of crime in Ba Sing Se were related at some level. But after a moment, another thought creeped into his mind: who were these agents working for?

Long Feng was clearly going over Tsao Tsai's head with this clandestine meeting, and Tsao Tsai did not seem to hold much respect for his second-in-command, if their conversation that Xing had witnessed in Lake Laogai was anything similar to the norm between those two men. They could have been Long Feng's insurance policy, or they could have just as easily been Tsao Tsai's men, and were now going to rough up Long Feng for conspiracy. Not able to eat his meal anymore, Xing slapped down the correct amount of money, grabbed the file, and walked out of the restaurant without even a word. He was going to get back to his own villa and page through this whole file so he would know exactly what was going on.

His journey home was quick, even more hurried than usual. He did not like to linger on the streets of Ba Sing Se; there was always some threat lurking around every corner. And now, as he currently was, worried that even his own protectors were against him, he was becoming wary of his own shadow. The very thought of hundreds of invisible eyes fixed upon him sent a shiver down his spine, and he quickened his pace. Normally he would have taken a palanquin to and from the restaurant, but Long Feng had insisted the meeting take place in absolute secrecy, and a sedan chair was bound to draw unwanted attention. It was with great relief when he finally reached the gates of his own home. Bidding the guards a good night, he closed the front door behind him and retired to his study.

It was a sumptuous affair, full of green and gold silk and with jade adornments everywhere. A servant brought him some wine, and then let him be. Content at last to be safely sequestered away from the dangerous city outside, Xing threw some more fuel into the fire, and then sat himself down with his wine and the file. And then, he began to read, with each line penetrating deeper and deeper into the conspiracy that Long Feng seemed so very convinced of.


	12. Chapter 12: Prince Lu Ten

**CHAPTER TWELVE: PRINCE LU TEN**

Lu Ten spread his arms apart like wings, and his orderlies eased the armor around his torso. He went through this process every morning, but after years of fighting it was no less jarring. On those few days when he didn't have to armor up after he awoke, he was always grateful not to have the extra weight on his shoulders. Experimentally, he flexed his wrists, encased as they were in his gauntlets, and saw each individual piece slide this way and that. It was a feeling he had to get used to every morning.

With a gesture, he dismissed the orderlies and they were gone with a polite bow. Left to himself, he walked over to the silk-covered table across the tent where his sword lay. It had been a birthday present from his own father, and it was by far the best gift he'd ever been given. Many Firebenders preferred to eschew the use of weaponry, but even before Lu Ten had discovered his Firebending abilities he'd shown proficiency with the blade. From where he was standing, his Firebending would be woefully incomplete without his sword. After admiring its worksmanship for a moment, he hefted it and thrust it, sheath and all, into the red and gold sash around his waist. Then, he brushed the tent flap aside and stepped out into the morning sun.

The camp was alive and hard at work hours ahead of the normal time. The order had gone out yesterday. Today was a special day, and the men would need to be up early for it if the plans were to go off without a hitch. Though some of the men were grumbling about their lack of sleep, there was a palpable feeling of excitement around the entire camp, one that Lu Ten couldn't help but find absolutely infectious. Just thinking about what the day ahead held for them put a little extra spring in his step.

Today was the day they would take the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. For this war, today was the beginning of the end.

"Good morning, Commander Qin," Lu Ten said, spying the haughty commander. Qin uttered a greeting that seemed to strangle itself in his throat, and then went back to darkly muttering to himself, his hands wringing themselves behind his back. Clearly, last night's _Agni Kai_ was still stinging his ego. _I don't even know if I'd call that an Agni Kai_, Lu Ten added as an afterthought, remembering how handily Jeong Jeong had disabled his opponent. He hadn't even resorted to Firebending. Lu Ten disagreed with his attitude towards the war, but he was inwardly glad that Jeong Jeong was on their side. Lu Ten was also grateful that he had put Qin in his place; Lu Ten believed there was no room for arrogance in battle.

Spying another compatriot, the grin spread more widely across his face. "Captain Qu!" he called out. The captain turned from the men he was talking to and when he saw that it was Lu Ten, he grinned broadly and gave a small wave. Figuring that was permission enough, Lu Ten approached. He rolled his eyes slightly as the others all bowed before him, and the young captain had a hard enough time stopping himself from laughing at the prince's antics.

"Big morning, Prince Lu Ten," Qu said jovially. "This'll be your father's crowning achievement, it will."

"It'll be our crowning achievement," Lu Ten gently corrected. Qu jerked his head slightly, and the men he had been talking to dispersed. "Thanks," Lu Ten said.

"It's nothing," Qu shrugged. "I was tired of them, too. What can I do for you?"

"Who are you being deployed with for today's attack?" Lu Ten asked without preamble. Qu smiled, as though he had been expecting this question.

"Ah," he said. "The honor is mine today. I am to march under your father's banner."

"That is sure to net you a promotion," Lu Ten offered, but Qu shrugged it off.

"Maybe," he said. "I kind of like being a captain. I don't have the weight of a commander's position on my shoulders, but I still get to boss around every lieutenant and everyone beneath them. It's not a bad lot in life, you know. You should try it." The two of them laughed like old friends, and after a moment it subsided. Lu Ten patted Qu on the shoulder.

"Fight well out there, my friend," he said. "Those Earth Kingdom men are stupid, but they're stubborn."

"I'll see you on top of the wall."

"I'll beat you there." With another round of laughs, they were off again in opposite directions. Lu Ten was still the happy prince he'd always been, but he couldn't deny that the war had changed him. Before they'd enlisted, Qu and Lu Ten could have held conversations lasting hours. Now, they were rushed affairs, if not a twinge awkward. That part of Lu Ten's soul ached; the part that had allowed him to simply relax and enjoy life. _No matter,_ he always told himself, _I can always have plenty of time to enjoy everything after the war_. He had all ready been through so much, seen so many miraculous victories that to him, survival was not an if. Fate had smiled upon Lu Ten thus far, and he could not possibly understand what he would do to ever lose its graces.

When he was quite done strolling through the camp, he returned to his own sector where his unit was forming up. They were clad in slightly higher-quality armor than most of the other units-an understandable difference, considering whom they served under. They were hand-picked by Fire Lord Azulon himself to protect him. The second Lu Ten had been placed in charge of them, he'd thrown away their ceremonial weapons and armed them all with halberds-real, practical weapons because of their versatility. He'd also encouraged their Firebending, as it was the one weapon none of the other nations could ever turn against them.

"Form up!" he called out loudly, his voice carrying in the early calm. They all hurried to their place and snapped to attention. In literally seconds, a jumbled knot of men had turned into a fully-formed division, serried ranks as far as Lu Ten's eyes could see. When he saw they were sufficiently assembled, his next order came as softly as the wind blowing through the fog at his feet, but there was no doubt that every single man in his division heard it.

"Move out." At once, the footsteps started, like a great drumbeat pounding the earth. The marching line was all ready forming up, and Lu Ten's units began to take their place amongst them. As they began marching, all ready the dark outline of the wall behind the cloud of fog was becoming clearer, as the top jutted out stubbornly above everything. Despite almost two straight years of siege, every morning there was nary a bloodstain or a burn mark on its gleaming white surface. That had always elicited some wonder in Lu Ten. There were no blemishes. The city appeared so unscathed. The city appeared to be so much, and yet he knew nothing about what it actually _was_.

Well, they'd find out today. Yells echoed across the battlements as the first fireballs cascaded down onto the battlements like the wrath of an angry god. Within moments, chunks of earth were returning in kind, and the battle had begun in earnest. Lu Ten's unit was held back; he would not be joining the field of battle until a later, more crucial time. This was how he knew the day would be theirs. His father had entrusted the key element of their plan to him. He knew that he would never let down his country or his father.

Fate would not let him.


	13. Chapter 13: General How

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: GENERAL HOW**

They were at it again, and they were early, damn them. General How had barely sat down to his breakfast when word reached him that the Fire Nation was at the walls and fighting like never before. Immediately, he was up and running. Three of the generals on the Council of Five had the duty to oversee the defense of the outer wall, and he was one of them. He had no idea where Generals Sung and Chan were, but he couldn't worry about that right now.

"Keep them distant!" How yelled as he took to the battlements. Heads swiveled in his direction for a moment as the men took stock of who was commanding them, and then turned back to the fight and redoubled their efforts. He motioned to one of the waiting messengers, who ran up eagerly. "Find out where General Sung or Chan is," How said curtly. "And order the Terra Team to the front line." With a salute, the messenger was off. How turned back to the fight. Normally, he wouldn't use the Terra Team on wall defense; they were better on open ground where they could fight in a circle and trap their opponents. However, without the Dai Li or the palace guard at his disposal, they were the best he had.

A grim feeling of satisfaction filled him when he saw who was spearheading the attack today: it was none other than the Dragon of the West himself. He was leading an assault on the central wall, while How was stuck to the far fringe. The center was Sung's territory, and he was very touchy about others assuming command. A hot swoop of dislike welled inside How just thinking about how frustrating that man was to work with. General Sung was nowhere to be found, and yet if How tried to salvage the situation, he'd be the one taking heat for it. General Iroh was here; he was right here, and how couldn't do anything.

With a sinking feeling, he saw that the Fire Nation had successfully divided them again; they were concentrating their attacks most strongly on the joints of the wall, where the command was divided. People could cross between wall segments, but it was more than their life's worth to try with the amount of fire being thrown about. Mentally, he heaped curses on all the bureaucracy that had successfully paralyzed him in a time of great need. He saw on the far side of the wall that General Chan had planted his standard, so at least one other member of the Council had joined the battle. That much was a relief to him. Still more relieving, he saw the splendid armored forms of the Terra Team hurrying down the path to the wall, and right behind them was General Sung's standard. The day wasn't lost, after all.

Stomping the ground, a rock leapt up before him and with an angry punch he sent it hurtling into the Fire Nation lines. It struck a soldier squarely in the chest, sending him flying back into the ranks behind him with its sheer force. But the Fire Nation host swarmed around all of the disturbances in their line, and they were refusing to break. He saw Commander Jeong Jeong was at their head; that would explain why. He watched as the enemy commander extended an arm, his two fingers pointed…right at him.

The bolt of fire came so quickly that How barely had time to react to it. Someone cried out, "General How!" and shoved him out of the way, and How saw the orange blast strike him on the shoulder and mushroom outward brilliantly. The sheer impact knocked the unfortunate soldier back, and he fell over the edge. Below, one of the Terra Team knelt immediately and punched the ground, and when the soldier hit it, it was soft like mud. How looked down, and was relieved to see that he would live. He turned his attention back to Jeong Jeong, and shot off another rock as a response. Almost lazily, Jeong Jeong blasted it to clay shards with another gout of flame, but How had not expected to hit its target. It had been more an act of defiance than anything else.

How put the Terra Team to good use the second they arrived. They were like armored angels, striding through the fire fearlessly and effortlessly moving tons of earth with bold, dynamic gestures. They somehow seemed larger, more imposing than any of the other soldiers on the field. As How saw them at work, something stirred within him, that sense of pride he felt as he watched them and his own men fight the Fire Nation headlong.

The Fire Nation's troops were surging past their defense, however, no matter how hard they were fighting. As rocks soared overhead, men were angrily swarming the foot of their great wall, bulky shields overhead to protect them from falling debris. How was familiar with the pattern of attack. They would fire to keep the defenders' heads down, while ladders were brought up. Ba Sing Se's walls were thought to be impregnable to any ladder, but the Fire Nation had collapsible metal ones that they had started to use in their sieges. It was very frustrating because the only way to dislodge them from the wall was to dismantle the battlements through Earthbending-a move that left the defenders very vulnerable, if only for a short while. How wasn't sure how they could even repulse it from up there.

And that was when General How got an incredible, ingenious, insane idea.

The ground beneath the Fire Nation troops buckled and shuddered, and they looked up to see what was the cause. Their eyes widened as they saw General How himself sliding down the surface of the wall, his personal guard and the Terra Team right behind him in a massive wedge that cascaded down the face of Ba Sing Se. How hit the ground with a resounding shockwave that caused the ground to ripple beneath his feet. His arms worked themselves furiously as he directed a veritable avalanche of rocks in every direction, and the Fire Nation ranks were thrown back. Taking another step forward, How stomped the ground, and two earth walls, pointed as a wedge, sprung up around he and his team. With a brutal shoving motion, the wedge shot off into the enemy horde, sending troops flying.

How was pleased to see the Fire Nation troops were sufficiently cowed: in two years of siege, the Earth Kingdom troops had never once ventured beyond the walls and taken the fight to the enemy. They had to be careful, of course; they were vastly outnumbered outside the walls and so could only keep a small perimeter, but it was made easier by the cover fire they were receiving. But nonetheless, How felt a rush, he felt exhilarated-_they were fighting back!_ Gone were the days of a static defense, of standing still and letting the Fire Nation just wear them down slowly. From now on, How resolved, they would be taking the fight back to the countryside and away from Ba Sing Se.

A fire blast hit the spot of ground where How was just about to put his foot. Twisting his leg to avoid the scorched earth, he slid his foot along the ground, causing a fissure to erupt. Falling back into his stance, he saw who the assailant was: Commander Jeong Jeong himself. The venerable Firebender, despite his age, moved with precisely the fluidity and grace that Earthbending lacked. He kicked the ground and a cone of flame rose up from his foot. How crossed his arms in front of him, and even as the stone barrier he summoned deflected the fire, he could feel the heat all over his body.

How stomped again, and a column of earth thrust itself up beneath Jeong Jeong's left foot, meant to break his root. Taken by surprise, Jeong Jeong faltered for a moment, but only just. The rock that shot his way came very close to hitting him, but he avoided it by leaping up onto the column, the narrow space providing just enough footing for him. As How caused it to crumble beneath him, he leapt off, flipping once in the air before bringing down his foot in an axe kick, a crescent of flame trailing behind it. How leaned back to avoid it, but as the cool air hit the side of his face, he knew that he'd been singed.

All around him, the Earthbenders were working like men possessed to throw their attackers away from the wall. How knew they would have to withdraw back up the wall very soon. He couldn't keep this up. But now, he was being confronted by the very pressing matter of a Firebending master looking to duel him…


	14. Chapter 14: Jeong Jeong

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: JEONG JEONG**

General How had proved to be canny and unpredictable. General Iroh's plan for the conquest of the wall would go forth unabated, but not even he had predicted that the Earth Kingdom's forces would sally forth from the walls they so jealously guarded. Jeong Jeong had been rather pleased by that turn of events. He had been tied up in this siege for so long that he missed the elegance of maneuver that lent itself to open-ground combat. This was refreshing for him, and it pleased him even more to see that General How seemed to share his thirst for combat.

He clenched his hands into fists and tongues of flame, fashioned into the likeness of knife blades, extended downward. In like fashion, How pounded his fists into the ground, and when he withdrew them they were covered in huge gauntlets of stone. He dropped into his fighting stance, and Jeong Jeong his. They had proven to each other that they could shoot fire and rocks at each other all day and the other would find a way around it. No, this would have to be settled close in.

Jeong Jeong leapt at his opponent, his arms crossed. When he got close, they opened up in a vicious scissoring movement, and the twin fire knives raked across the surface of the gauntlet How used to block them, leaving an ugly black scorch mark. How twisted his elbow, bringing the parry motion into a downward blow which Jeong Jeong had to twist to avoid. He was starting to figure out the dynamics of this duel now. The sheer power of How's weapon meant that Jeong Jeong couldn't hope to parry it effectively, but he was also infinitely slower than Jeong Jeong. That put the advantage squarely in the Fire Nation's side. So much like the war they were fighting, he would be able to choose the place of attack and the best How could possibly hope for was to defend against it as best as he could.

How took the initiative, punching brutally at him. But just as he had predicted, How's movements were sluggish, and he could basically only attack from three directions: up, the sides, and the occasional thrust. Remembering how similar last night's _Agni Kai_ was, Jeong Jeong twisted out of its way, but How was a bit more canny than Qin had been, and swept the fist along the same lines, catching his opponent and throwing him off-balance. Staggering back a few steps, Jeong Jeong felt the pain in his side; he'd been hit in the ribs. They weren't broken (so far as he could tell), but it had hurt. _First blood to him,_ he thought.

Coming back for the counter-attack, he threw himself bodily at How. With scornful ease, he avoided How's attempts to hit him, and he brought his hands together. His two fire knives merged into one intensely burning blade, an almost blueish hue. He swept it towards How's neck, but How raised one of his gauntlets, blocking the flaming sword. Jeong Jeong hit with enough force, though, that it actually knocked the gauntlet into the side of How's head, and he staggered back for a moment. There was a long angry gash on the side of the gauntlet where his slash had landed, and he felt some satisfaction. The left gauntlet was weaker now.

While they were dueling, the battle was raging around them. The Earth Kingdom forces had put up a successful (but small) perimeter around their segment of the wall. However, they were slowly being pushed back more and more. Jeong Jeong noticed in particular that a group of warriors with particularly ornate armor were causing trouble. They weren't panicking as easily as the enlisted men and they seemed to have a stronger team dynamic. He made a mental note to have them disabled as soon as possible. But even their valiant efforts weren't enough to hold back the Fire Nation forever. Though initially surprised and even stymied by the sudden counteroffensive, the Fire Nation troops had regained their advantage and were now pressing in from every side. The perimeter would break soon; all ready some of them literally had their backs against the wall.

Turning his attention back to their duel, Jeong Jeong swung his blade again, a trail of flame following its path. How ducked to avoid it, and brought his right gauntlet up to hammer it back down on Jeong Jeong. The Fire Nation commander brought up his fire blade to parry…and then let the flames dissipate into nothing. Anticipating the resistance of the flame, How was instead met with no resistance at all, and overextended himself. Seizing this chance, Jeong Jeong ducked under his guard, elbowing him harshly in the chest and sending him to the ground. As How hit, Jeong Jeong planted his foot firmly on his adversary's chest and pointed his two fingers at How's head.

He was blindsided suddenly as a rock hit him in the side. All balance lost, his arms and legs flailed for something solid, but he was flying through the air and there would be none of that. He came to a skidding halt over twenty feet away, and quickly scrambled to his feet, but it was too late. He could all ready see troops helping General How to his feet and half-carrying him to the wall. The Earthbenders stomped the ground, and the very earth they were standing upon started climbing up the wall as escalating platforms. They showered any pursuers they had with debris, and within seconds they were at the top of the wall again. Jeong Jeong stomped his foot angrily. He had been so close…He would have been the only one in Fire Nation history to take down two members of the Council of Five. He could have destroyed the wall's command structure, then and there, and yet he was foiled by a mere lackey.

He calmed himself. It was not wise to get greedy and stoke his kindling before it had ignited. They had successfully driven back the Earth Kingdom's riposte, and all of the wall's defenders had witnessed General How's personal defeat at the hands of he. That much was a victory to the Fire Nation morale, in the least. He strode into the midst of his troops who were in the midst of regrouping, and bellowed, "We have driven them back to their wall like the cowards they are! Let us drive them from there as well! For the Fire Lord!" A rousing chorus of yells greeted his exhortations. In truth, he did not believe the Earth Kingdom fighters to be cowardly, least of all General How. But this was about what the men needed to hear, and so, Jeong Jeong rationalized somewhat bitterly, the less human they seemed, the more willing his men would be to kill them.

He looked at the sun. It was nearly noon now, and Iroh would be implementing his plan soon. In the distance, he saw Lu Ten's banner creeping closer, moving so insignificantly that one could not notice it unless one was looking for it. They had guarded his approach carefully; no one from the walls would be able to notice anything significantly out of the ordinary if all went according to plan. And minus the sudden and unexpected attack, everything had been.

At the center of the line, General Iroh himself was in the fray. It had been a while yet since Jeong Jeong had seen him in combat, and he had forgotten how gifted of a Firebender he was. While his younger brother Ozai was content to spend his time at the palace, learning from a host of different Firebending masters, Iroh was out here, fighting the war, gaining wisdom instead of knowledge. Jeong Jeong preferred Iroh's approach to Ozai's; there was only so much a sifu could teach you before their teachings became rigid and regimented.

Suddenly, from Iroh's ranks, a white and red flag went up. Jeong Jeong nodded to it, though he knew that it obviously could not acknowledge him. He turned to the nearest subordinate he could find.

"Bring up the charges!" he called over the din. The aide nodded and started running back towards the rear of the column, waving Jeong Jeong's seal to show his clearance. While he waited for those to arrive, Jeong Jeong turned his attention to the wall. To his surprise, he could see that the three generals from the Council of Five were retiring from the wall, though their men kept fighting on. That intrigued him. Clearly, they were changing plans, and it was to be in a radical way. And the more he thought about it, the more Jeong Jeong began to think that he knew exactly what those three men were deliberating, and his mind was all ready working out a way to undermine it completely…


	15. Chapter 15: Hu

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN: HU**

**THREE DAYS AGO**

Hu felt his heart in his throat. He was about to perform his first official operation for the Dai Li; he couldn't help but be nervous. He assuaged himself somewhat by remembering how well Long Feng had trained him for this moment and how he could not let his city down. He was clinging to a wall in one of the alleys of the middle ring, Shin beside him and another pair of Dai Li agents hanging on the wall opposite them. Shin checked the hourglass at his belt. The sand was almost completely through into the next glass-their target would be along at any moment.

Outside the alley right now, Dai Li agents disguised as civilians were at work, blocking up key avenues of traffic. The flow was being redirected into various avenues, breaking down the vast crowd into very manageable chunks. Hu cast his gaze down the alley and saw their target just at the mouth of the alley, hesitating. There was no doubt he was staring at the massive crowd the Dai Li had pooled in front of him, seeing if there was a way around it. There wasn't, and he turned and began to make his way down the alley.

He managed to take five steps.

At once, the four of them leapt down from the walls on either side of him. Hu and one of the Dai Li opposite of him thrust their arms out, and long metal cuffs unfurled, clasping neatly onto their target's wrists. Hu jerked his arm roughly, and the target was forced to his knees. Fear was etched into his face. Wordlessly, he watched as Shin coldly informed the target that he was under arrest for crimes against the Earth Kingdom. The four of them stomped, and a vast hole opened up beneath them. The target fell roughly, his hands still bound and his balance wrong, but the four of them landed adroitly. With another gesture, the hole closed above them and Shin took out a crystal lantern. Immediately, the tunnel was illuminated.

"Let's march."

Beneath Lake Laogai, Hu helped himself to some tea. He needed something to relax his nerves after a long shift. He had received pats on the shoulder for his first successful arrest, and he'd felt himself swell with pride. Long Feng had made it all possible, he thought. Long Feng had trained him into who he was, had taken him away from his boring post at the palace. He'd heard through the grapevine that the lieutenant had even requested him personally and that Tsao Tsai had only gone along with it to humor him. _Well, let Tsao Tsai think what he wants,_ Hu thought to himself. The man was the Secretariat of Ba Sing Se, but he was none too popular with the Dai Li. The agents followed his orders, of course. But he lacked charisma, or perhaps he had just gotten complacent with his position.

And so, as he sat there, ruminating on all of the good Long Feng had done for him, he was quite surprised when he felt another tap on his shoulder and turned around to see the man himself. There was no preamble, no greeting; just a simple, "Come with me." At once, Hu gulped down the last of his tea, feeling it burn in the back of his throat. Then, he wordlessly got up and followed Long Feng down the corridor until they reached a dead end. Almost as if the wall knew they were standing there, it yawned open, revealing a small cavern where about two dozen Dai Li stood, waiting patiently. Hu realized that Long Feng must have fetched each of them individually. He took his spot at the end of the line, and Long Feng, satisfied, closed the entrance.

"You have all been summoned here for the purpose of a very sensitive mission," Long Feng said tersely, again without any preamble. "You have all proven yourselves extremely loyal agents of the Dai Li, and you are the ones to whom I can entrust this mission and be completely ensured of its success." This much floored Hu completely. He'd been serving in the Dai Li for a grand total of four days. Despite the loyalty and pride he felt, he knew there had to be another underlying reason here. "We draw our agents from a wide variety of walks of life," Long Feng continued, "so that we can allow all members of our society to assume the duty of protecting their own way of life. You all have a common background: you were all, at one time or another, guards of the Earth King's palace."

"It has come to my attention that there is a conspiracy of corruption that reaches to the highest echelons of our own city's government," he continued gravely. "A suspect that was apprehended this afternoon has indicated to us that Guardmaster Xing, current head of the Palace Guard, is involved at some level." This had Hu reeling. Surely there was no way. Xing was tirelessly loyal to the Earth Kingdom.

And yet…the more Hu thought about it, the more it began to make sense. Xing was needlessly paranoid, after all; he rarely ever ventured out of the upper ring, and of all the government villas, his was easily the most well-guarded. Why would such a secure individual be so paranoid and feel that he required so much protection? Someone who had secrets surely would have a reason. Long Feng had extensive files on many of the goings-on of Ba Sing Se, but even he breathed easily at night. Hu was not entirely sure of what to believe, but he was not about to question anything just yet.

"Other individuals that my findings have implicated include General Weng, Tiger General of the Council of Five-" Here, Hu felt a swelling of pride. After all, Long Feng had discovered General Weng's mysterious dealings thanks to Hu's own detective work. "-and though it pains me to say this, Secretariat Tsao Tsai may have tacit approval of this conspiracy as well." At this, Hu was completely incredulous. If Long Feng was right, then the three main conspirators were the Earth King's most trusted advisors. The grim look on Long Feng's face seemed to speak the truth, though Hu wasn't entirely sure of what to believe.

"My hope is to stem this corruption before it gets too far and the Earth King is compromised," Long Feng said, his voice soft and very grave. "That I was able to glean so little information suggests that they are working very hard to suppress information about their doings. It is only thanks to your exceptional work that I have found anything at all." For some reason, Hu felt as though Long Feng were speaking to him and only to him. He had done Ba Sing Se a great service, hadn't he? Perhaps his discovery of General Weng's servant had even started off this entire investigation. "I need to know that I can count on you loyal Dai Li agents to know that your allegiance should lie with the greater good. If you are asked to do things you may not personally agree with, I need to know that you will not waver and that you will understand that compromises must be made."

"Am I understood?"

In the dead of night, the guards posted around Xing's villa were vigilant as always, but even they could not see the Dai Li agents stealthily leaping over the walls. Hu knew exactly how they had been trained-he had been one of them, after all. He knew exactly where they were trained to look, and what they were trained to look out for, and so he knew exactly what not to do to alert them to his presence. His comrades, possessed of this same advantage, were equally wise.

Sneaking up towards the front porch, Hu pulled out a pair of wet rags from the folds of his sleeve. There were two guards posted in front of the ornate door, sitting and talking. He had to make this quick. Looking around carefully, he thrust out his palms and his earth gauntlets, palms outstretched and encased in the rags, flew with perfect accuracy to the guards' faces, clutching the rags around their mouths and noses. Hu clenched his fingers, and the gauntlets tightened themselves around the guards' faces. In seconds, the solution that the rags were soaked with had done its work, and the guards fell to the ground, asleep. As Hu made his way to the front door, two other Dai Li propped up the guards to make them look as if they were merely asleep on the job. As Hu passed them, he extended his hands and the rocks flew back to his grip. His robe trailing behind him, he pulled the door closed.

Xing was in his study when they came. He was reading something, sipping from a glass of wine and warming his feet by a fire. At once, the Dai Li restrained him, a stone hand to his mouth muting any protest he might have. Coolly, Long Feng strode into the room, his hands folded behind his back.

"Guardmaster Xing," Long Feng said coldly, "you are under arrest for crimes against the Earth Kingdom. Do not attempt to resist." There was a glimmer of satisfaction in the man's voice as he recited that familiar warning. Xing's eyes went wide, and he strained against the gauntlet to say something, but nothing came out beyond frustrated grunting. His eyes wide with fear, he cried out muted screams and fought every inch as the Dai Li dragged him away. Hu, meanwhile, picked up the document he had been reading.

"Sir," he said, holding it out to Long Feng. "Take a look at this." Long Feng took the file and paged through it. "It looks to be a Dai Li file," Hu added. Long Feng nodded grimly.

"He had no clearance for this information," he said. "Only a man like Tsao Tsai could have given this to him." He slid the file into his robes. "You have done good works here this night, agent Hu," he said. "You have proven an exceptional operative Dai Li. These will be trying times. The people of Ba Sing Se owe you more than they shall ever know, and you will not go unrewarded." With that, he swept out of the room.

Hu and two other agents spent the next five minutes straightening out everything in the room, smoothing out every single crease. When they finally left, it was as if no one had even been there.

Xing had been abducted by ghosts.


	16. Chapter 16: Prince Lu Ten

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN: PRINCE LU TEN**

Jeong Jeong had called a conference during the break between the fighting, and though the plan was going ahead as scheduled, their tactics had changed somewhat. On the other side of the wall, a similar conference had been called, and Jeong Jeong claimed he had a fairly shrewd idea of what they were talking about. Lu Ten wasn't entirely sure of it, but his father seemed to think that it made sense. In response, a new detachment of fighters had been brought up alongside Lu Ten's command, a secret weapon they'd been saving for a while.

It was almost unnerving, looking at them. They were tattooed, which somehow made them stand out as something stranger or alien from the rest of the army. Since their arrival to the field of battle, they had uttered not a single word. The men were unsure of how to treat them, but Lu Ten found it best if he merely kept his distance, let them do their grisly work, and give his orders when the time was right. Yu Yan archers, they were called, and their prowess was legendary. His father had hoped to keep them secret until they were within the walls, but if Jeong Jeong was right, then now was the best time to deploy them.

An eerie calm had descended over the battlefield. In the past two hours, not a single shot had been fired by either side. However, as that time wore on, it was becoming apparent that the ceasefire was about to end. The three generals had taken to the wall again, and everybody was tense. General Iroh's forces were arrayed with a weak center and two strong flanks, Iroh himself at the center of the entire battle line. Meanwhile, Lu Ten's own division was still out of sight of the defenders. It had taken much reconnaissance, but they had managed to find a blindspot in the defenders' line of sight, even with the massive, cloud-piercing wall on their side. Lu Ten cast his eyes up to the sun. Based on its position, the Fire Nation would be starting its attack very…

_**BOOM.**_

That was the charges. Blasting jelly was a new invention of the Fire military, and in particular Commander Qin had been promoting its usage. The first volley of explosives was to hit the wall itself. Even those powerful charges weren't capable of breaching the wall, but they would certainly shake it. And more importantly, it would instill fear in the hearts of the Earthbenders above to be facing such an unknown deadly weapon.

"On my mark…" Lu Ten said tersely. _**BOOM.**_ This time, thick black smoke billowed upwards. That was the second batch of charges: they had been detonated in pitch and tar to create a smog cloud. And that was exactly the cover Lu Ten's command needed to join ranks. "Mark!" he bellowed, and they surged forward. He watched the Yu Yan archers silently disappear into the plumes of smog, while his own men trooped off in a more soldiery fashion. On this course, he would more than double his father's own command, causing the Earth Kingdom forces to be badly outnumbered where they had concentrated the majority of their forces. It was that old adage: where you have weakness, feign strength; where strength, feign weakness.

The Fire army rushed forward to the base of the wall, and under a veritable landslide deployed their metal mantlets. Sparks flew as rocks pinged violently off their surface, but it was providing cover for the troops huddled behind them. Ahead, Lu Ten saw the back of his father's formation, and an exultant thrill filled his heart-the battle was joined. He waved his sword triumphantly, and the horn player at his side blasted a few jubilant notes to announce their arrival to the field of battle. All at once, cheers went up across the Fire Nation ranks; they felt invincible, that they were doing what they were born to do, and all the flying dirt in the world would not stop them.

A cry from above signaled what came next-a massive counteroffensive by the Earth Kingdom. As one, the entire might of the Earth Kingdom's armies began surging down the walls in a viridian tide. Lu Ten marveled that there were so many Earthbenders on the frontlines alone. At the head of them were the three generals themselves: How, the Tiger, tall and hewn of the rock itself; Sung, the Crane, short and broad; and Chan, the Snake, the grey-bearded veteran, wiry with eyes like fire. The first volley was devastating; at such close range the mantlets stood no chance and were knocked aside roughly, the metal twisted and dented. The Fire soldiers were thrown back likewise, collapsing across each other in a confused heap. However, they were quick to their feet and never once lost their discipline.

The smoke was starting to clear from their sudden mass Earthbending, and as it did, Lu Ten's shining standard was gradually revealed to be standing behind their center, as well as over two times the troops that the Earth Kingdom forces had expected to be there. Iroh's trap was sprung. It would have been so much more difficult, Lu Ten thought, if they had stayed on the walls, but Jeong Jeong had been practically psychic in predicting that they would try a mass counterattack. Seeing how well it had worked for General How and a small group, it was natural the Council would want to try it on a larger scale. But here, it would be their undoing. The Fire Nation was not nearly as skilled in the art of siegecraft as the Earth Kingdom. But on the open plains, there was no nation of the four more skilled than they.

His father's forces were starting to fall back in the face of General Chan's advance, but that was all part of the plan. Chan's forces would run headlong into fresh troops, completely rested and ready, while they themselves were all ready tired. As the General fell back, he caught his son's eye, and the two shared a smile from across the battlefield. But then, Lu Ten was back to his business, and with each swing of his gleaming blade, he spilled Earth Kingdom blood. He preferred it to simply using Firebending exclusively; he found it made him a more versatile and dangerous opponent.

Over on the right, Sung and Qin were in a deadlock; Sung's forces were outnumbered, but Qin was having trouble successfully surrounding them. Jeong Jeong fared better; he seemed to be seeking out General How again, perhaps for a rematch of their spectacular duel earlier. With some satisfaction, Lu Ten could see that the Earth Kingdom was greatly regretting this move all ready, and they'd only touched down about five minutes ago. What had started out as a gallant counterattack was quickly turning into a slow and painful trap as the Earth Kingdom forces started to get boxed in by the Fire Nation's pincer movement. He punched the air with an angry precision, and a ball of fire shot off, flaring as it caught an unfortunate enemy soldier in the gut, folding him and knocking him down, where he did not stir. Twisting from his current position, he brought the straight-bladed jian up in a jab, stopping a charging Earthbender in his tracks. With a forceful twist, he withdrew the blade and kicked the man back before bringing his foot back down, sending fire and sparks mushrooming where his boot fell. He twirled around, ducking as he made a backslash that batted a flying rock to the side, and fired another blast of fire from two of his outstretched fingers, just missing his target, but hitting close enough to set the man's robes on fire.

To impede the Fire Nation's progress, the Earthbenders hastily dug trenches to try and create a gap between the two battle lines so they could regroup and retreat, but as per General Iroh's orders the Fire soldiers were relentless. Some leapt the trenches while some tried to scramble through them. Still others sat back and shot blasts of flame, watching as the enemy hastily erected stone barriers to protect themselves. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sung finally break and start falling back, and for once Qin was pressing his advantage instead of stopping to smell the roses.

_This was exactly what happened last time,_ Lu Ten thought. _They started out strong, and then they were pressed back against a wall. Can't they learn?_ But even as he thought this, he saw the frontline of the Fire Nation's forces fold back, and the Earth Kingdom was pressing out again. He watched as both sides threw themselves back into the fray headlong, and with another stroke of his sword, Lu Ten had joined, as well.


	17. Chapter 17: Captain Qu

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: CAPTAIN QU**

Captain Qu was fighting the hardest he ever had in his life, he was sure of it. The fight was going unexpectedly well, but of course the resistance was strong. He had just barely avoided that tremor, shoving the butt of his gaundao into the ground to stabilize himself. For the umpteenth time, he wished that he was a Firebender; in bending warfare the non-benders always had a harder time of staying on top of things. The earthquake subsided, and Qu leapt forward with an elegant flourish of his weapon, swinging its long shaft with the elegance he'd been trained with.

Not twenty feet away from him fought General Iroh himself, and Qu couldn't help but feel some sense of awe as he saw the Dragon himself at work. Even as he thought this, Iroh opened his mouth wide and sent a cone of flame at the oncoming Earthbenders, and they stopped in their tracks, confronted by the fearsome sight of a living legend. "Come on, men!" Qu yelled encouragingly. "Burn them to the ground!" He whirled his guandao before straightening it out suddenly and snapping it up, the long blade catching an unfortunate soldier in the back of the head, right where his head met his neck. His blow had enough momentum to throw the soldier to the ground, and Qu twirled it back before raising its long shaft with both hands to block a rock flying his way.

"General Iroh!" he called out. "I suggest we spring the next part!" But even as he called out his advice, one of Iroh's adjutants raised a fan painted with the face of a blue dragon-the pre-approved signal Qu had been hoping for. He could hear a distinct rumbling starting in the distance, and a mixture of excitement and pride filled his gut. The Earth Kingdom soldiers looked terrified. They didn't know what was in store for them.

But Qu sure did.

A utilitarian marriage of wood and iron, the carts rumbled forward, pushed by massive komodo rhinos. The iron barrels lined up neatly on their platforms glinted ominously in the sun. Riding around the carts was a small army of rhino cavalry, intent on keeping their precious cargo safe until it could reach its destination. General How seemed to realize the importance of the carts; he was yelling and pointing at them. But every rock that was sent their way found itself disintegrated by flames, and they thundered across the battle line. Suddenly, the front of the formation shuddered, and for a wild moment Qu thought that perhaps the Earth Kingdom had stopped it: those golden-armored Earthbenders, the elites that had fought in the earlier counterattack, were holding up an entire formation all on their own. It was impressive Earthbending.

Something glinted in the sky, and a second later, almost half of the Terra Team was down, their armor pierced by expertly-placed arrows. Qu grinned. That was their other secret weapon at work. The Yu Yan archers leapt out from seemingly nowhere, firing a steady stream of arrows on the beleaguered Earthbenders. They shielded themselves better against successive volleys, but the archers' work had been enough to disrupt them. The rhino formation rumbled forward again, and this time there was nothing that could halt its momentum.

As they approached the wall, the rest of the rhino formation immediately broke off, leaving eight speeding carts on a collision course straight for the wall. Seeing the escorts break away, some of the Earthbenders seemed to realize what was about to happen; they broke formation and started running. However, some were not quick enough on the uptake, and they stolidly stood by the wall. It was their loss.

The explosion was like a second sun, brighter than anything Qu had ever seen. In that instant, as a black and orange ball of flame ballooned outward, the entire battlefield was bathed in an orange glow and Qu shielded his eyes with his hand. The roar was deafening, like a thousand thunderclaps right next to his ear. He saw some of the soldiers closest to the point of impact drop to the ground screaming, blood streaming from between the fingers that covered their ears in vain. Huge chunks of debris were blown in every direction, giant pieces of shrapnel, and yet again black smoke stained the horizon. But as it started to clear, Qu felt more awake than ever before because of the sight that confronted him-_they had breached the wall._

The gap yawned before them, and for the first time in their lives Fire Nation soldiers set eyes upon the inner layer of Ba Sing Se. For one moment, General Iroh seemed to be taken by the sheer magnitude of this instant, but it truly was for only an instant; he yelled "Forward!" and the entire army moved forward. Realizing what had happened, the Earth soldiers fought tooth and nail to keep the Fire Nation from nearing the breach and vainly tried to close it with their Earthbending, but there were far too many Fire Nation soldiers too close by. Arrows and fire flew thickly through the air, and the inner grounds of Ba Sing Se felt the stain of blood and the sting of flame for the first time in the history of the world.

Qu rushed through the breach, spearing a nearby enemy on the tip of his guandao as he did. He breathed in hard. As illogical as it sounded, even the air felt sweeter on this side of the wall. Seeing that green expanse on the inside, when he had lived for two years in a veritable desert on the outside, it was inviting to even he, a conquering invader.

The positioning was becoming strange; the Earth soldiers stood firm in front of the breach, but the sheer amount of soldiers streaming past them meant that a substantial force was building behind them while there was an even more substantial force in front of them. As it was, the Earth soldiers were slowly becoming entrapped by their own breached wall. The Earth Kingdom forces were realizing this, and their formation was starting to become circular. That was a good sign-one could always tell the enemy was desperate if they were circling up.

All at once, everything hushed as a blast of horns resounded across the battlefield. General Iroh motioned for Qu to fall into step alongside him, and the General walked forth from the ranks of the host, Qu slightly behind him to his left. He looked over and saw the other figure flanking Iroh was none other than his old friend and Iroh's son, Prince Lu Ten. Sensing that there was a parlay, the ranks of the Earth Kingdom forces parted for the three generals. General Chan was at their head, with Sung shuffling behind and How boldly striding in his wake. Through the corner of his eye, Qu saw Yu Yan archers notching arrows and surreptitiously aiming their bows at the three generals. He saw Commander Jeong Jeong on the other side of the breach, the vast Fire Nation horde at his back streaming to get in. All around, the atmosphere was as before: an eerie tension.

Qu stopped walking; they had reached the meeting point, and their three adversaries were all ready standing there. Iroh bowed respectfully as he approached. "General Chan, General Sung, General How," he began. "You and your men have fought bravely and with great cunning these past six hundred days."

"This we know," General Chan spat impatiently. "Hurry up and get to your point, Dragon." If the insult or churlishness perturbed Iroh, the wizened general gave no sign.

"Surrender the wall here and now," was the simple reply. "We will let you gather your dead in peace and return to the inner part of the city unmolested."

"And if we refuse?" How asked defiantly. Iroh merely shrugged.

"You are surrounded," Iroh said simply. "If you refuse, we will resume the fighting. My men will use their superior numbers and better position against you, and if you are not slaughtered to a man, you will be imprisoned for certain. This is the best way." It wasn't a threat; no, General Iroh didn't threaten people. It was a simple statement of fact: with his army surrounded, what other choice did General Chan possibly have?

Grudgingly, General Chan pulled something out of his belt and handed it to General Iroh so violently that it was almost as though he threw it. Iroh felt it in his hands, and over his shoulder, Qu got a fairly good look at it: it was an ornately worked dagger with a pearl handle-obviously fine craftsmanship. Iroh considered this to be a fair token of surrender, and he waved to one of his adjutants. Colored flags went up all across the ranks, and the horns sounded again triumphantly. Cheers rang across the entire battle line. Qu saw the normally taciturn Commander Qin indulge in a rare smile, while Jeong Jeong was taking a long pull from his flask across the way.

As the Earth Kingdom troops began the long walk back to the inner walls of Ba Sing Se, they would look back and see vast red silk banners spilling down the sides of their walls like bloodstains. The majesty of the Fire Nation emblem unfurled itself on both sides of the wall, revealing its new master for all the world to see.


	18. Chapter 18: Hu

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: HU**

**TWO DAYS AGO**

"This had better be important, Feng," General Chan said impatiently as Hu strode into his office in the wake of Long Feng. "We have a lot of things to worry about this morning. We haven't even begun burying General Weng." A cold jolt hit Hu. General Weng was dead? Long Feng didn't seem nearly as perturbed.

"Yes," he replied smoothly, not missing a beat. "That was a very tragic loss. He served the Earth Kingdom well in his life…but it was actually his death that I came here to speak to you about." That perked up Chan's eyebrow.

"And what input could you possibly have, Long Feng, that I would ever value?"

"Nothing too drastic," he said airily. "I merely come with the Earth King's recommendation for his replacement." He held up a small dossier, and even he could not help but let a small grin form beneath that mustache of his. "I think you'll be pleased with the Earth King's decision." Chan took the file and flipped through it.

"How?" he asked.

"You disapprove?"

"I disapprove of nothing," said Chan shortly. "But I wonder, Long Feng, how you could possibly have the Earth King's recommendation when we are following Tsao Tsai's orders to not inform him of the war outside our walls, hmmm?"

"General Weng's death, though regrettable, had nothing to do with the war," Long Feng answered. "And it is the right of the Earth King to select the members of his own Council…" Chan looked to the Dai Li in front of him, and then to the file. "Very well," he said irritably, turning his back on them. "I shall inform General How. Leave me." Long Feng bowed to his back, and he swept out of the office again, Hu and Shin trailing behind him.

Hu's career was moving quickly now. Though only on the job for a week, his deep involvement in several sensitive Dai Li operations had quickly propelled him into a different area of focus. He had gone from a lowly surveillance operative to an investigator perhaps faster than any other recruit ever had. E_xtreme circumstances call for extreme actions,_ he told himself. In these trying times, heroes always emerged from unexpected corners; how hard was it to believe that he could possibly be among their number?

The conspiracy in particular was troubling. Xing's manor had produced irrefutable evidence that he had been given top-secret information he had no clearance for. And when an extraction team had burst into Tsao Tsai's own house, they had found it completely empty; he had destroyed anything sensitive and completely disappeared from Ba Sing Se altogether. Word had not yet reached the Earth King of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the disappearances of the former Secretariat and the Guardmaster, but it would soon enough. Long Feng was meeting with him today, supposedly to discuss certain "important matters." Hu supposed that this was when Long Feng would reveal the depths of the conspiracy to the Earth King.

In the meantime, Hu had been tasked with something else to do: espionage. What he was supposed to do, he was not entirely sure. With the major players in the conspiracy implicated, he did not know what other sinister forces lurked in the city that would require spying upon. He supposed that they might be making efforts against the Fire Nation armies at their doorstep, but he was not entirely sure of how they would go about that. The Dai Li were ruthlessly efficient, the best Earthbenders in the world and the best at what they did. But they were trained in a way that made them the ultimate enforcers in an urban setting like Ba Sing Se. Outside of its walls, their efficacy was greatly reduced.

As the sun was starting to go down, Hu found an emerald scroll waiting for him in his quarters, though he had securely locked the door before he'd left it hours earlier. Looking around furtively, he closed the door behind him, lit a crystal lamp, and slowly unfolded the scroll. He knew it to be his assignment; he'd heard stories from other agents of mysterious texts being left in their quarters.

_At midnight, venture beyond the outermost wall and inform the waiting horseman that General Weng is dead and that General How is his successor._

Hu sat there, stunned. He was supposed to just make his way past the world's most impenetrable wall and tell the enemy of the changes and secrets going on in Ba Sing Se's infrastructure. It was insanity. Surely there was no way that this could help the Earth Kingdom conquer its enemies. The less the Fire Nation knew, the better.

And yet…and yet, Long Feng had told him that he would have to do questionable things and just trust that it was for the greater good of the Earth Kingdom. The very previous night, he had apprehended his former boss and had found out exactly the depths of his corruption, though Hu would not have thought it in his wildest dreams. He knew very well what a threat the Fire Nation posed. The conspiracy that he had foiled kept the city under tight control, but even its insidious nature paled in comparison to an implacable enemy whose sole wish was to burn every building to the ground and clap chains on the ankles of every man, woman, and child within the city's walls. _Extreme circumstances call for extreme actions_, he reminded himself mentally.

And these times were certainly extreme…

The moon was out that night, casting a pale glow along the entire wall, though it was fractured by the green lamps posted every few feet, creating a strange distortion effect. Clad in his dark green "stealth" robes, Hu was nearly invisible, even in the light. To any passing glances, he did not appear to be anything more substantial than a fleeting shadow. He slowly began scaling the wall, taking each movement with ponderous efficiency, making not a single noise as his gauntlets melded and unmelded with the walls. For what seemed like hours, he climbed, at times immediately freezing up if he felt that someone might be watching him.

At last, he reached the top of the wall and gracefully vaulted over it and onto the battlement. He crouched down, hiding himself in a jungle of shadows as he stalked across the wall. He tapped his foot, and suddenly one of the piles of boulders lined up along the wall collapsed. As an outcry rose up in surprise, Hu took his chance and leapt off the wall. One of his hands grasped at the wall and in a cascade of dust and debris, he stealthily slid down the entire length of the wall. In mere moments, his feet were touching solid ground, but his heart was still pounding from the rush.

At the shores of the Serpent's pass, he found a courier waiting on the back of one of the Fire Nation's monstrous reptilian mounts. Purposefully, Hu stepped on a branch to alert the man to his presence. Immediately, a small light ignited in his palm, and he looked around anxiously.

"Who's there?" he called out into the darkness. "Who's-" His question was muffled by Hu clamping his gauntlet down on the man's mouth, having snuck up behind him.

"I was never here," Hu hissed into his ear. "All I am is a message. Do you understand?" Shaking slightly, the courier nodded, hard as it was with Hu's grip on his face. "General Weng is dead," Hu whispered. "General How ascends to his seat on the Council of Five."

The courier's jaw loosened; the grip had released him. "Wait!" he called out into the night. But it was too late. There weren't even footprints left in the sand.


	19. Chapter 19: General How

**CHAPTER NINETEEN: GENERAL HOW**

"-In complete disgrace, how could we let this happen-"

"-No other option, you're not letting yourself see the alternatives here-"

The Council of Five's chamber was a mess. The Generals were all on their feet, the stone pieces on their war board were in disarray, and everyone was yelling at everyone. Even How, despite his normal composure and self-control, was yelling. It was infuriating. The Fire Nation had been thrown back every day for the past six hundred days, and in the centuries before the walls of Ba Sing Se had never been forced open by any unwelcome hand. And yesterday, the walls had fallen-on their watch. While people tried to leverage blame, come up with desperate solutions, the only thing that was getting done was absolutely nothing.

"Do you realize what you did, General Chan?" General Fei was saying. "Do you realize what danger your foolhardiness has put the entire city in?"

"And what would you have done in my situation?" Chan demanded of him so angrily that cracks appeared in the chamber's stone walls. "Fought and died like a hero to the last man? Yes, that would be the best idea, because you could serve our kingdom so well as a charred corpse!"

"I would not have given way to petty threats," Fei said vehemently. "What power has the Fire Nation over the stone that surrounds them, over the ground that all living things walk upon? None. We control the world around them, and so we control them. And yet you gave them your own knife and walked away, your tail between your legs. How dare you," he spat, "soil the office of General."

"Though overzealous," came the lilting voice of General Sue, "General Fei has a very strong point, General Chan. It was very rash of you to venture beyond the protection of our walls and open yourself up to an attack like that."

"You weren't there," General Sung said, almost timidly. "General How used it as a surprise maneuver in an earlier engagement, and it was quite effective-"

"And so you proceeded to do the same thing again, when the Fire Nation would not only be expecting it, but actively hoping for it?" Sue asked shrewdly. Unlike the hot-tempered Fei or Chan, Sue held no anger in his voice, but there was a hint of sarcasm, or at least condescension. Sung kneaded his fingers together, but before he could make the situation any worse by opening his mouth, How spoke up.

"We tried another counter-attack because it had worked well, yes," How said. "But the Fire Nation had been holding back certain weapons for an assault today. You know what they had. Those explosive devices, those tattooed snipers…things that our intelligence knew absolutely nothing about. The Fire Nation had intended to play its hand today no matter what we did."

"No," shouted Fei again, "you just made it easier for them!"

"If I may," Sue said, and the room grew strangely quiet at the sound of his voice. "What is done is done. Perhaps we should focus our efforts less on bursting the veins in our foreheads and more on reconquering that which is rightfully ours." How appreciated Sue's down-to-business approach to the matter at hand, though his cold manner had always stopped him from outright liking the man. He had a very haughty air about him, and though he was a capable strategist and strong fighter, he was not the most likeable man.

"Yes," How said, trying to exert some of his authority in the tense room, "that sounds best." Chan and Fei regarded him warily, and How knew it would be a while yet until they stopped thinking of him as the junior member just because he was the most recent appointee. If his memory served, he had held off Jeong Jeong for his first two days and even faced the legendary commander in single combat. He didn't have any recollections of the other generals doing anything nearly that harrowing in their first two days. "I believe our best bet is to stage our counterattack at night. The Fire Nation will be expecting it, but we will have the added advantage of the sun being down." There were murmurs of assent as far as this was concerned. But as the plan went further into development, disagreement rose again: whether to take it with brute force, or to use stealth, who should lead which attack, and so forth.

It was a relief for How when someone else entered the chamber.

The footsteps made every general cock their heads in surprise; no one save for the Earth King was allowed in the chamber unless personally invited, and no one had issued any invitations. So it was to their great surprise that the gaunt form of Long Feng would be striding into their sanctum as confidently as if he owned the place. Fei turned to stare at him impatiently. "What do you want, Long Feng?" he asked testily.

"Given the situation, I would think you'd welcome my presence," Long Feng sighed. "But I suppose I shall always receive the resistance from the military that Tsao Tsai does…"

"Where is Tsao Tsai, anyway?" Sue asked pointedly.

"We have had trouble locating him," Long Feng said, not a little evasively. "But in any event, while he is gone I am acting head of the Dai Li, and I am here to pledge their service to the Council of Five." This was regarded with more than some suspicion. Though the Council had been trying for years to authorize the use of Dai Li agents on the front, Tsao Tsai had been adamant that they not go beyond the bounds of Ba Sing Se's walls.

"Your predecessor was not so generous with his services," How said. "What has made you change your mind?"

"The mission of the Dai Li is, has been, and will always be to protect the culture of Ba Sing Se," came the well-rehearsed response. "Outside of the city's walls, the Dai Li have no use. But seeing as the Fire Nation has penetrated those walls and are now within the city…" The generals all exchanged glances, but as always Long Feng seemed unperturbed. "Come now, generals," he said. "You've been trying to get at the Dai Li's resources for years. Don't tell me that you don't want our help when we are freely offering it…"

Those words, more than anything, made up the Council's mind.

"Very well," General Chan said, speaking for all of them. "We will accept whatever aid the Dai Li is willing to give us. I presume you wish to deploy them according to your own wishes?"

"Naturally, but I am more than willing to cooperate to suit the plans of the Council," he said deferentially. "The Fire Nation is unaware of the Dai Li's existence, and so we have a great advantage over them. Think of how you were blindsided, generals, by the Yu Yan archers or the Fire Nation's blasting jelly. We could use my Dai Li in much a similar way." How arched an eyebrow.

"How do you know all of the technical terms for these Fire Nation tools of war?"

"My intelligence goes beyond the boundaries of these walls, even if my jurisdiction does not." How scoffed.

"Tsao Tsai never granted us any of his information," he replied, but Long Feng merely smiled enigmatically.

"I'm not Tsao Tsai, though, am I, General How?" He moved forward to the war board and tapped it with his finger. Immediately, pieces righted themselves, and the five generals turned to see what Long Feng was setting up. How's eyes widened as he watched. It was madness, more radical and wild than his own reckless sally forth.

It would win them the battle for sure.


	20. Chapter 20: Jeong Jeong

**CHAPTER TWENTY: JEONG JEONG**

The wall was different. There was a strange sense of security that seemed to be ingrained in its very structure, a security that had been absent for so long during his years in the campaign. So long he spent living in tents, living where there were no real walls, that now that he was finally confronted with true structure Jeong Jeong was not exactly sure how to feel about it. He had taken up quarters in one of the guard towers, as had the other officers, while the soldiers had begun fortifying their hold on the wall and were camped out surrounding the breach. Engineers had worked most of the day to clear away the debris, and the breach had begun the transforming into a true opening.

Looking out over the parapet, he saw the sun starting to set in the distance and marveled at the magnificent view that his perch commanded. So often had he dreamed of it, but to see it with his own eyes…it moved him, somehow. He was happy, so very happy that he had been wrong. Their victory today allowed him to hope, allowed him to believe once more that this war was worth fighting. He had fought the war for so long without being sure of why he was fighting; he fought because his blood demanded that he fight. He was a warrior born, and he believed his sole purpose in this world was to make war. That was why he had been born a Firebender; he had been born able to control the element that destroyed everything in its path. But today's victory reignited that hope that this war could be over soon, and that once it was Jeong Jeong could find some other purpose for his life.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned around nonchalantly, expecting it to be Chen with some report of this or that. Instead, he was confronted with the regal form of General Iroh. He bowed, let a grin slide across his face. "General Iroh," he said. "My deepest congratulations on your victory here today."

"It was our victory," said Iroh. He held up a bottle of wine. "I would be honored if you would drink with me."

"Of course." Jeong Jeong took the offered cup gratefully and held it out as Iroh poured a rich red liquid into it. He sipped it tentatively, and the taste was sumptuous and strong and somehow victorious at the same time. "A very old wine," he guessed.

"It was first bottled in the days of my grandfather Sozin," Iroh said genially. "It has aged well." A bottle of wine that had been around in the first days of the war. That certainly deepened his appreciation for it a good deal.

"I am honored," Jeong Jeong said between sips. "that you would choose to share it with me." Iroh merely laughed.

"And I am honored as well." Their cups kissed with a slight clunk and they drank again. "You know," he began again, "last night two people were in my tent, both with plenty to say on the subject of you." Jeong Jeong raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Yes," Iroh said, his voice echoing into the cup. "My son, Lu Ten, and later on Commander Qin stopped by." Jeong Jeong let out a snort of mirthless laughter.

"I would bet that Qin had plenty to say, considering what he did afterward."

"He wanted you to be court-martialed," Iroh continued. "He blamed all of yesterday's problems on you." Jeong Jeong looked up, intrigued.

"And?"

Iroh waved his hand. "I gave it no thought. Qin will second-guess anyone that he has to share command with. The only reason he obeys me without question is because I am the Fire Lord's son. But Qin's comments were not the most interesting ones," he added. Not sure of what answer he would receive, considering his conversation with the prince last night, Jeong Jeong contented himself with a sigh.

"What did your son say about me?"

"He told me that you have some interesting feelings concerning our campaign." Silently, Jeong Jeong continued to sip his wine, wondering where this was going. "I will not waste your time by telling you that these feelings are normal or all right," Iroh continued. "You are four years my senior, and though you are not of the royal blood, I have always considered you my peer and equal."

"So then," Jeong Jeong said slowly, not a touch of insolence as he spoke, "what say you?"

"To be honest?" Iroh asked. "I do not think you are fit for the position of commander in my army…No, thinking like yours would make you more fit to be a general." Jeong Jeong almost choked on his wine in surprise.

"What?" Iroh nodded, smiling.

"The Fire Nation's commanding officers can be so vicious and unquestioning," he said. "What I need are men who know the quality of mercy, who know what is enough, and who are able to think for themselves. That Qin wanted to have you court-martialed," he added teasingly, "was all the confirmation I needed." He raised his cup. "To you, General Jeong Jeong." Smiling obligingly, Jeong Jeong raised his cup as well, and the two drank.

General. He was a general. For some reason, though, he'd thought that there would be a greater emotional impact when he was finally promoted. Now, he wasn't entirely sure of how he felt. He had wished for that coveted rank for a while yet, and felt that he had earned it. But the higher he climbed in rank, the more he felt like he was just establishing himself deeper inside the system that he wanted to escape someday.

Before he had time to say much more, he noticed ripples in the cup of wine in front of him. He looked up to see if something might have fallen into it, but the sky was clear. He looked back and saw bigger ripples in his cup this time. Iroh noticed and his eyes opened wide.

"The Earthbenders," he said. Immediately, Jeong Jeong and Iroh ran off in opposite directions, yelling out instructions to every one they could find.

"Ground level, now!"

"Bring up the archers and deploy the cover! I want blasting charges, and I want them now!"

The Fire military sprang into action, but even as they did the wall rocked again, more strongly this time. Below, the encamped soldiers were rushing from their tents, some not even bothering to put on their armor. Rocks began pinging loudly into the night against the smooth surfaces of the mantlets the Fire Nation had deployed, and soon enough there was fire shooting through the air to answer it in kind. Jeong Jeong leapt into the battle headlong.

It was time to prove his worth as a general.


	21. Chapter 21: General How

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: GENERAL HOW**

In the war room, the assembled had made a solemn declaration: that by the time the day was out, the Fire Nation would have been repulsed from their wall. Though they only occupied a small segment of it, they had dominance of the entire wall, and so all of Ba Sing Se. But now the fight was concentrated on one part of the wall, the segment torn asunder by that ugly, yawning breach the Fire Nation had created.

The hidden approach had been his idea. Tunneling an entire army beneath the ground was a difficult feat, but it was fortunate that they had at their disposal so many expert Earthbenders. That the Fire Nation had noticed it at all was remarkable; they must have had bowls of water on the battlements to warn them of undermining. Nonetheless, the effect of the entire might of Ba Sing Se springing from the ground was quite good. The only continent that had not tunneled with them was Long Feng's detachment of Dai Li; they had their own approach that was more suitable to their unique skills.

As the fight raged, How realized how true the old adage was that Firebenders were weaker at night. Even though it was dark, he saw the Firebenders doing less spectacular things, to the point where the fire even looked duller. The only inherent problem with Earthbending at night was knowing where exactly your rocks were flying, but since they were all firing in the same general direction, How didn't see it as a major problem.

Sending another rock spiraling off into the dark, he felt a muffled grunt a few seconds later-he'd hit someone. But the plan they had set in motion was more than just surrounding Firebenders in the dark and throwing rocks at them. They made no effort to dislodge the cover that the Fire Nation troops had set up, and in fact they began setting up barriers of earth around the wall. How stomped his own foot and an array of wicked-looking rock spikes, pointed forward to discourage any charges, sprung up like a fresh daisy. Acting according to the plan, similar action was being taken all across the battlefield.

It was strange, How thought, to finally be the one on the offensive, while the Fire Nation desperately struggled to hold and fortify a wall that they had no idea how to manage. Not that the Earth Kingdom didn't know how to handle its walls, that was…but still, it was refreshing. The Fire Nation thought that they were fighting their tenacious defense, in reality the Earth Kingdom was merely letting them think so. It was part one of the trap.

A fire blast, vicious as a hornet, shot straight for How and he only blocked it at the last second with a summoned earth barrier. He waved his hand and the wall flew towards his assailant. Nimbly, the attacker ducked beneath it and fired off another cone of flame from his foot, and then leapt up…and hung there. Immediately, he abandoned his form and his fingers clutched at his neck. Floating there in midair, he was flung far away. At once, How knew what had happened.

The Dai Li had joined the battle.

Gauntlets were flying around the battlefield, expertly striking or subduing Fire Nation soldiers in every direction. In the darkness the black stone was invisible, so it looked as though the Fire Nation were under attack from the spirits themselves. Some found themselves grabbed by their robes or their necks and bodily thrown, while other soldiers fell under a hail of gauntlet fragments, fired off as bullets. How couldn't see everything that was going on, but through his Earthbending he was able to sense the general idea, and it amazed him. He'd worked with some brilliant soldiers, experts at their job, but he had never seen a group of such adept Earthbenders working so perfectly in unison. Not a movement was wasted. _We really could have used that before the Fire Nation got through,_ How thought ruefully.

Still, the element of surprise was really working in their favor. Maybe fate had dictated that the Dai Li be held back until such an occasion. How looked around, but there was no sign of Long Feng himself. He didn't know whether that meant that the man was too cowardly to take to the battlefield himself, or that he was just doing a very good job of being stealthy. Nonetheless, the plan was set up in such a way that they could go ahead without his presence; How assumed that most operations were run this way, with a fluid command structure. It was one of many ideas he hoped to adapt into their own practice when all of this was over.

Running forward, he planted himself at the very head of the formation and threw his full weight forward, and as he lurched a column of earth spiked forward, blasting a clean line through the assembled Fire Nation troops, but it was still dismaying to see how quickly they filled those gaps. As one, the formation behind him thrust their fists out to their right, and the ground the nearest troops were standing on sharply slanted itself, causing Fire Nation troops to lose their footing and slide into each other. It brought a smile to General How's face just to see it happen. Where was all of their high technology now?

But naturally, no plan survived contact with the enemy. Iroh had taken charge now and they were starting to subvert the Earthbenders' efforts to close them in by creating barriers of fire. Arrows flashed in the firelight, and How felt his blood run cold. If those archers were on the battlefield, it would be nigh-impossible to see a flying arrow in this light, and they did not look to be the type that missed easily. He tried his best to content himself with their only being so many of

_**BOOM.**_

A furious explosion welled up in the distance and it was punctuated by screams of fear and surprise. The Fire Nation had been rather quick about breaking open their blasting jelly. Similar explosions were rocking the battlefield, kicking up massive amounts of dust and smoke and creating brief illuminations of the wall. Long shadows were cast on the wall's face as fires started to spread on the verdant ground they were fighting on. That wasn't good; lots of crops that Ba Sing Se depended on grew on this spot, and they wouldn't grow on scorched earth. _This had better work,_ he thought, _or I'll have your head, Long Feng…_

Seeing that the enclosure was being properly maintained, How moved forward with the next phase of his plan. He took out the flare that Long Feng had given him and threw it on the ground, as he'd been instructed. Immediately, a green light pierced the darkness and lanced up into the sky. In answer, four more lights immediately flared to life across their line: the signal to start with phase two. At once, more barriers of earth sprung up, pressing the Fire Nation troops in closer, and in such volume that the Fire Nation troops could not merely burn through them like they always did.

A clamor from the top of the walls revealed what How had been waiting for: Fire Nation soldiers were being bodily thrown from the top by Dai Li agents that had scaled the wall in secret. Using their Earthbending, they were clearing the battlements of any Fire Nation presence, and soldiers were falling like living projectiles into the densely packed ranks. When the wall was completely cleared of Fire Nation soldiers, the Dai Li planted themselves firmly in position, and began to sway back and forth. The earth beneath them began to rumble as well, and the shadow of the wall began to sway from right to left, as well.

The wall was beginning to sway…


	22. Chapter 22: Hu

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: HU**

Even though he was atop the massive wall of Ba Sing Se and it was the middle of the night, Hu knew exactly what the Fire Nation soldiers were probably thinking below as the wall started to shake. _They couldn't. They wouldn't. It was madness. There was no way the Earth Kingdom would do such a thing._ And if they didn't think it right then, they would very soon.

Long Feng's plan was a simple one. It would, in a single stroke, cause catastrophic damage to the nearby Fire Nation troops, completely dislodge them from the wall they had worked so hard to take, and expunge the remaining troops from the inside of the wall. And what was more important, it was a move that not even General Iroh, canny as he was, would see coming. The flaw with these military commanders was that they only thought in terms of military paradigm and classical strategy. A man like Long Feng thought with a certain ruthless efficiency that he instilled in all of his Dai Li, and so focused on how best to achieve his results with the least amount of resources. In short, how to deal the most damage with the smallest amount of force.

This was no small amount of force, granted, but comparatively…

Below, he could see the military corralling the Fire Nation forces on the inside of the wall. On the outside of the wall, where the majority of the Fire Nation troops still were, A select number of Dai Li agents were performing the same task, using their relative invisibility to their advantage over the clumsy Fire Nation forces. Never before had so many Dai Li agents been deployed for any operation, military or otherwise, and Hu saw the benefits of his own grueling training in every move and with the death of every Fire Nation soldier.

The wall rocked harder now, stone grinding against stone and striking enormous sparks in midair. It teetered back towards Ba Sing Se, but all of the Dai Li agents on the wall thrust their fists towards the outer desert, and the wall followed their motion, swaying outward again. They were slowly building its momentum, and though nothing would be able to stop it anyway, this would make things just that much more deadly. It swayed back and forth, one…two…three…four times.

And then the wall of Ba Sing Se started to fall.

It groaned, like some great dying beast, and then its massive form started rushing to the ground. Screams echoed pointlessly off its quickly-descending face. Only now did Fire Nation troops start to realize that the earth barriers weren't supposed to be cover, but rather they were to stop anyone from escaping the wall's wrath. With that final thunderous sound of sundering, the entire section broke off, and it pitched forward. Adroitly, the Dai Li agents perched atop it leapt off in unison and landed on an outstretched mound of soft earth that had been created for them by other waiting Dai Li agents. Their part was almost done here; they had but one other task to complete for Long Feng. Hu and three other Dai Li agents broke off from the main group and began combing the battlefield; their target was specific.

The sound of the wall hitting the ground was louder and more terrible than anything that the mortal ears of every man and woman on the battlefield had ever heard. Its impact was so great that even back in the Earth palace, ripples appeared in the Earth King's nightly cup of tea. Huge clouds of dust were kicked up by its impact, and it blew about the field in that catastrophic way of a complete disaster. In a single instant entire divisions of the Fire Nation's army were wiped off the face of the earth, crushed under that immovable wall, the wall they had so jealously tried to take for so long.

All fighting stopped for just a moment as the Fire Nation stared in disbelief at what had just happened. The Earth Kingdom troops were also in disbelief; their wall stood sundered before them, and yet the gaping hole had swallowed the lives of so many of their hated enemy in that one instant. Then, a cheer rose up from the Earth Kingdom ranks, and they pushed forward against the shocked Fire Nation troops. The enemy was far too disturbed now to fight nearly effectively, and were essentially now trying to retreat without losing too many of their number. The wall stunt had not even killed a quarter of their strength, but it was a good way to destroy the enemy's morale. It was almost like the judgment of an angry god.

From their vantage point above the field of battle, Hu's kill team could see how everything was playing out. The banner they recognized as Qin was in full retreat, as was most of the host. Iroh and Jeong Jeong were attempting to perform damage control, rallying the disoriented troops that had been missed by the wall and getting them to safety. They were fighting most defensively at this point, with vast walls of fire to bar any pursuit, coupled with deadly showers of arrows from those lethal Yu Yan archers. Fire Nation engineers rolled entire barrels of blasting jelly into the fire walls wholesale, creating more explosions in an ultimately futile attempt to regain the psychological edge. They could play with their pretty explosions all they pleased, but nothing the Fire Nation could throw at them now would ever top Long Feng's ingenious use of the walls of Ba Sing Se as an offensive weapon.

And there, one unit held fast, playing rearguard to the rest of the Fire Nation host. It was almost impossible to think that it would dare stand against the might of the Earth Kingdom, but the men in it fought like tigers, each one taking down at least three of their enemies before going down themselves. Their courage and prowess was admirable, but they were a problem. They were completely intractable and were actually using the ruins of the wall as cover against the enemies on both sides. Even from this distance, the banner betrayed the identity of this unit's head officer, and a small, cruel smile that would not have been there a month ago formed on Hu's lips.

"Proceed for the target and terminate with extreme prejudice."

As one, the four of them leapt from their perch on the mound of earth and started to filter their way through the chaotic scene of the battle. Though their target was the most steadfast resistance, it was by no means the only unit that still fought back against the Earth Kingdom forces. The four of them gestured identically, and four columns of earth raised themselves out of the ground, as expertly hewn as though crafted by a master of the art. They began to revolve around some invisible center point, stirring the troops caught in their embrace ruthlessly before abruptly spitting them out brutally in every direction. The men sprawled and groaned; some of them died. Hu didn't care. They were enemies of the Earth Kingdom, and as such they deserved whatever fate was coming to them. As did their next target.

They saw him now, fighting the hardest of all of his men. His royal topknot was frayed and in disarray, his armor chipped. He waved his sword dangerously, spilling blood with a well-placed peck into a soldier's gut. His free hand held a ball of fire, and at the first chance he had, he threw it violently. Prince Lu Ten was their target, as per the orders of Long Feng. And with the Dai Li after him, it was assured that he would not last the next minute.

Lu Ten seemed to realize something was wrong, because he stopped dead for a moment. Suddenly, he kicked an arc of flame at agent Shin, who ducked and let the flames wash over him, the green, feathered tuft of his Dai Li hat igniting and then sputtering out. The light had illuminated the four Dai Li agents bearing down on him, however, and he drew back into a fighting stance before springing forward. He made a vicious thrust for Hu's neck, but Hu grabbed the blade in his stony fist, sending sparks flying as he expertly held the finely-crafted weapon. With almost contemptuous ease, he snapped the tip of the blade off, leaving the once-elegant weapon an ugly stub. He yanked the remainder of the sword, and Lu Ten, his grip strong, was dragged closer to his assailant. Hu punched him harshly in the chest, and he staggered back, finally relinquishing his grip on the sword. Hu dropped it, and it hit the ground with an ugly clatter.

Lu Ten looked around him as the four ghostlike assailants extended their hands towards him. He tried to muster the breath to start his Firebending forms, to incinerate all of them, but before he could even inhale, something hard hit him in the abdomen, sending the wind sailing out of him. It was a rock, a fragment of a Dai Li gauntlet. All four of them fired off segment after segment like bullets, pumping the battered Fire Nation prince full of rocks. He was all ready dead, but they kept firing to be certain. His strong limbs were completely limp, and as each successive impact shoved him this way and that, his head lolled while his arms lurched. Blood flowed in lines from his mouth; they had ruptured his lungs.

"MY SON!" Hu jerked his head up. The Dragon himself was bearing down on them, and with a bellow of rage and grief, he breathed an enormous fan of fire at them. Agent Hong was caught completely by it and he fell to the ground, writhing in pain and screaming, rolling desperately to put out the flame that was eating at him. The remaining three Dai Li agents stomped the ground and leapt into the hole that opened itself before them. The last view that Hu had before the hole closed itself was that of the grief-stricken General Iroh, legendary Dragon of the West, cradling the broken form of what had once been his beloved son.


	23. Chapter 23: Jeong Jeong

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: JEONG JEONG**

**ONE WEEK LATER**

Captain Qu was coming out of the tent as Jeong Jeong approached it. He snapped to a salute, and Jeong Jeong returned it wearily. Their eyes met, and in both men's gazes there was a certain tiredness, a fatigue beyond anything either had experienced so far. The look on Qu's face said exactly what Jeong Jeong all ready knew: "He's not well." They relaxed from their salute, and Qu ambled down the path to his own men. Jeong Jeong took a moment to steady himself, and then took a deep breath. What he was about to do was not easy, and though it had been a long week since, General Iroh had not been a very approachable man.

Ba Sing Se still stood. The morning after, he had ridden out himself to see the battlefield, maybe collect the dead. The shining white face of the wall was there again, whole and unblemished. The ground before it could not have been smoother if it had been swept that way. The Earthbenders had covered up everything, and despite all their sweat and toil, it looked as though absolutely nothing had happened. Their Earthbending could cover up the hundreds of men and women crushed beneath layers of dirt and sediment, but it would not burn the memory from his mind…

He peeled back the tent flap and saw the slumped shoulders and broad back of General Iroh, sitting at his table. "General Iroh?" Jeong Jeong asked carefully. From the back, it appeared as though Iroh nodded. Taking it as such, he stepped into the tent, and the light dimmed as the flap swung limply behind him, blotting out the daylight. He sat down opposite Iroh, though the general still didn't turn to face him. There was an awkward silence, but Jeong Jeong was kind enough to break it.

"I hear you are withdrawing."

"The men are tired," Iroh drawled slowly. "There is nothing more we can do here." Jeong Jeong nodded, then stopped himself self-consciously as he remembered that Iroh could not see him. Before Jeong Jeong could say anything more, Iroh said, "I hear that you are withdrawing as well."

"I am." The truth hung awkwardly in the air, like a bird trying a wing that had been broken until recently. "I am resigning my commission as a general and transferring to the navy."

"As an Admiral?"

"Of sorts," Jeong Jeong answered. "That will be my official title, but in truth my main duty will be to oversee the tutelage of officers in the art of Firebending." He had negotiated the position carefully with the higher-ups; they had been eager to keep him on the front line, killing people wholesale, but he had remained adamant and in the end they had considered his talents too valuable to disenfranchise just yet. Iroh's shoulder slumped a little more, and then squared themselves. Slowly, he revolved on the spot, and turned to face him. He looked a terrible mess: his eyes seemed to be so very empty, and for the first time Jeong Jeong could notice the visible age lines on his face, the lines that his youthful demeanor had formerly managed to hide so very well. Even Jeong Jeong was taken aback by his commander's appearance.

"I congratulate you," Iroh said, and Jeong Jeong nodded his thanks. Then, after a pause, the thought that so pregnantly hung in the air came out of Iroh's lips. "You wish nothing more to do with this war."

"I cannot deny it," Jeong Jeong said. "I've seen terrible things done, and this was the culmination. We have reached too far, and as a result, we have burned our hand on the stars." Iroh seemed to just take this. Not sure if he should go on, Jeong Jeong nevertheless felt he should clarify himself some more. "It has been the greatest of honors serving under you, General Iroh. In my long years of soldier's work, I have not worked with a finer commander." That much was true. "But I have seen what our element does to us. It makes us greedy, it urges us to consume, because we have not properly mastered it. I hope that by teaching the next generation to master the wild element of fire, that we can teach them to avoid making the same grave errors that we have." Iroh's almost dead, grief-stricken eyes seemed to bore into him.

"I see." He sipped one of his ever-present cups of tea thoughtfully before lowering it. "You've been an exemplary officer, and I'm sorry for the Fire Nation army to lose you. They will be losing me as well, of course, but I have my own opinion as to who is a graver loss." Jeong Jeong was not sure how much of that talk was flattery and politeness, but all the same it honored him. He got up, as did Iroh, and the two bowed like old friends. Then Iroh sat down again, and Jeong Jeong turned to go. He was almost out of the tent when Iroh's voice halted him.

"Jeong Jeong." It was so strange to hear his name without some rank attached to it. He turned, but did not say anything, because he was all ready fairly sure of what General Iroh was going to ask him. "Do you believe that I reached too far? And do you believe that I was punished for my own arrogance?" For a moment, Jeong Jeong hesitated, but then he realized that Iroh would be perhaps the only person in the entire military understanding enough to appreciate the truth when it was told to him.

"Yes."

Iroh nodded sadly; clearly he had been expecting that answer but hoping for another. He took another sip of his tea, then set it down. "I have thought so as well, but I feared the ring of truth in my own ears. One of the last conversations I had with my son was about you and your good qualities, Jeong Jeong." This much, Jeong Jeong knew. "He said that even if your lack of faith made him uncomfortable, he was still deeply respectful of your honesty because it has not yet given way to the pessimism and cynicism that would normally plague a man of your age. In your travels, whatever you do, do not lose your way."

Jeong Jeong bowed again to this sage advice. "I will do my best, General Iroh."

"I mean it," Iroh said again. "If you lose that honesty, that ability to see reality as it may truly be, then I do not know what the future could possibly hold for the rest of us." There was a real note of concern in his voice. Jeong Jeong merely nodded again to allay any concerns Iroh might have had, and then saluted him for the last time. Iroh returned the salute, and they were parted like that. Jeong Jeong had been expecting a long conversation, fraught with all manner of poetic imagery and heartfelt speeches about duty and honor. This outcome, however, pleased him more. He had said exactly what he had meant to say, no more and no less. Somehow, that seemed more complete to him than any scripted conversation that he had thought of, something that a playwright might have conceived.

Command of his unit was being assumed by the newly-promoted Commander Qu; that had been a personal request of his. He was able to freely walk out of the camp and just keep walking. He walked past rows of tents, of soldiers joking and singing as they busied themselves with the task of breaking camp. He walked past the smells of burning logs and cooking food, past the clatter of pieces of armor falling and voices shouting this way and that. He kept walking right out of the camp, not even looking back once at the world that was all ready a memory to him. He walked for what seemed to be hours before he at last reached the lake's edge, where he saw the ironclad ship moored just off shore. A small skiff was on its way to meet him all ready, Fire Nation banners bleeding from its sides.

Admiral Jeong Jeong took his first step into the shallows and felt the healing water swirl in his boots. He was a different man.


	24. Chapter 24: Long Feng

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: LONG FENG**

The best word to describe Long Feng's mood was "victorious." It had been a long, long con and taken all of his cunning, but he'd managed it after years of months planning and conniving. It was his grand plan to remove all danger from Ba Sing Se, his scheme that would turn the sprawling city into the greatest utopia the world had ever known. In a single sweep, he had been able to remove the Fire Nation from the city and eliminate the dissident elements in Ba Sing Se's government, and now he could personally oversee Ba Sing Se's rise to greater glory.

The Fire Nation had been easy to deal with. They were brutish and greedy, and all he had needed to do was find a way to subvert their leadership. General Iroh was too hard to reach for them to strike directly, but Prince Lu Ten had been an excellent target. He was always on the front line, always exposing himself to danger. If Iroh had been incapacitated, some other officer would have hoisted the banner and turned Iroh into a martyr. But by leaving Iroh intact and instead wrenching out his heart, they had successfully managed to defang the feared Dragon of the West.

But for that to work, he'd needed to tempt them into extending themselves too far so as to create maximum vulnerability. And that was when he began to realize how he could make the Fire Nation situation work to his own personal advantage. He'd always wanted power, but there were those that stood in his way. Tsao Tsai, Guardmaster Xing, and of course, General Weng. Knowing Iroh to be the cunning fighter that he was, he expected that if Iroh got wind of a new general on the Council of Five, the Fire Nation would try to break him first. With that in mind, Long Feng had taken steps against General Weng and replaced him with a hot-headed general that he knew would not only refuse to break, but lash back in kind.

While the Fire Nation was busy overreaching itself, he took advantage of Tsao Tsai's relative unpopularity among the Dai Li, noticing during training how they demonstrated more loyalty to their trainer than their supposed leader. It didn't help that Tsao Tsai's demeanor made him a rather unlikable person. Long Feng had often wondered how the Earth King could stand his overbearing nature and aloofness; such traits were not the traits of a good leader or advisor. Xing had been far easier to remove from the table than the spymaster, though; he had been drawing agents from Xing's pool of manpower for years, and so he had a large host of agents with intimate knowledge of how Xing operated.

The easiest part, however, had been explaining it all to the Earth King. Naïve as he was, he instantly believed that General Weng had died in his sleep and signed off on Long Feng's suggestion that General How replace him. Even now, he believed that Guardmaster Xing had been the head of a conspiracy against him and that his accomplice, Tsao Tsai, was on the lam somewhere. Long Feng had arranged the evidence accordingly so that it would be overwhelmingly against him. In a way, he almost pitied Xing; he had been the easiest to get along with of all the men he'd considered his political enemies. Perhaps he would arrange for the former Guardmaster to have a slightly nicer cell beneath Lake Laogai.

The change in power had gone completely unnoticed by the populace at large; that was the true indicator to Long Feng that his plan had gone off without a hitch. People barely even knew that General Iroh had breached the walls. Things would remain hushed now, with Long Feng in power. The greatest danger was posed by the chaotic elements in the city, he'd always said that. But he'd always considered Weng, Xing, and Tsao Tsai to be dissident; their plans did not mesh well with his own, and Long Feng had always believed that he was the only one possessed of the vision and drive necessary to rule a city as vast as Ba Sing Se.

The new position was called "Grand Secretariat." It was a step above Tsao Tsai's old post, and it not only placed him in charge of the Dai Li, but also gave him oversight over the military and the Earth King's own palace guards. It was the only way that they could be sure the Earth King was safe. Why spread all of that authority over several untrustworthy figures when it could instead be consolidated in the form of one man whose sole mission was to protect the Earth Kingdom?

He was walking down the prison corridor of Lake Laogai now, to visit a very special prisoner that he had detained. All of the expert Earthbender prisoners were kept in triple-reinforced wood and metal cells, and Long Feng had made sure this one was both particularly strong and of his own design-he didn't want any inside knowledge precluding an escape attempt.

The door slid open, and there, chained in a corner, sat the hunched form of Tsao Tsai. His hair was now unkempt, and his eyes were full of hatred when Long Feng entered. That sharklike grin on Long Feng's face was a mirror of the one Tsao Tsai used to wear all the time. Tsao Tsai merely spat at Long Feng's feet. "Hello, Tsao Tsai," the new Grand Secretariat said gloatingly.

"The Dai Li will not remain loyal to you, Long Feng," Tsao Tsai declared savagely. "They know the traitor that you are and they will oust you as soon as they find another." Long Feng laughed. Not necessarily because he found anything funny, but because he knew the gesture would infuriate his prisoner.

"They were always loyal to me," he said. "Was I the one who breezed through this complex with barely a nod to anyone? Was I the one who trivialized all of the agency's accomplishments? No," he continued, answering his own question, "It was you. You had all the time in the world for this agency, Tsao Tsai, but you never had any time for the agents themselves. That's why they threw you in this cell without a second thought, even though you not only outranked me, but probably expected me to do something like this." Tsao Tsai grimaced, as though he were taking these truths like some bad medicine. "The Dai Li are at my command, and always have been. You shouldn't delude yourself."

"Then why are you here?" Tsao Tsai said. "What do you plan to do with me?"

"All of the crimes against the state have been hung around Xing's neck. Weng's dead, and the official story for you is that you disappeared under mysterious circumstances. So, while Xing will be put through the legal system and Weng cannot cause us any further trouble…you are a loose end."

Tsao Tsai's eyes widened. He knew exactly what that had meant. "No," he said, trying to make it sound like a command, but even he could not keep that pleading note out of his voice. "No, I'm too valuable. You need me more than you know. I have information! Contacts! I know things you couldn't possibly begin to-"

"Your secret files," Long Feng cut across scornfully, "were easy enough to access. Though I should tell you that you vastly underestimate my own intelligence-gathering abilities. Much of what was in your files, I all ready knew. But there was one file in particular that held my interest…" he produced from his robes a rather thick file, labeled "Long Feng." Tsao Tsai's heart sank. "Some very interesting notes in here," Long Feng said slowly. "In particular your future plans with me…and I had no idea that you'd had a hand in the vandalizing of my father's store…" He had, but again, it was all meant to taunt the man he hated so much.

"You know," Tsao Tsai said, "We are the same man. You are the same conniving snake that you believe me to be. A bitter end is rushing to meet you." Long Feng, unmoved, raised his finger and pointed the gauntlet between Tsao Tsai's eyes.

"We are different," he said. "Because unlike you, I win."

Blood splattered the cell, but Long Feng got not a single drop on his fine robes. Content with how things had played out, he nodded to a pair of waiting Dai Li agents, and they hurried in and began the process of readying the body for disposal. Long Feng folded his hands behind his back and silently swept out into the corridor. There was no one in his way now, nothing to stop him.

Long Feng's reign had begun.


	25. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

**IROH**

Iroh walked through the corridors of the royal library, a small stack of scrolls tucked under his arm. The tall shelves cast tall shadows, and despite the brilliant daylight there was an unmistakable gloom about the place. Finding himself a suitable table, he sat himself down and unfurled the first scroll. Hungrily, he dove into it, his eyes scanning the page ravenously and devouring every word.

The venerable general was in disgrace. All across the Fire Nation's capital, his name was whispered, quickly followed by such slanderous words as "coward," or "traitor." There was little that he could do about it, and there was little he wanted to do about it. The fire that had burned so strongly in his heart had been snuffed in that one instant, and his will to do anything at all seemed gone from him. He lay awake at nights, wondering how best he could deal with that emptiness. He felt as though his son had been torn away from him far too soon, and that, more than his brother's usurpation of the throne, made him feel powerless.

Almost as soon as he had returned, he had been hit with another blow: his father had died in his sleep, or so his brother told him. This one, however, did not have nearly the impact that the loss of his beloved Lu Ten did. In Iroh's absence, Ozai had crowned himself Fire Lord. And yet, Iroh found himself unable to challenge his brother. He was too consumed by grief to muster up the rage necessary to Firebend to his full potential, and with his defeat at Ba Sing Se, the political tide had turned against him. No, Ozai was now the undisputed ruler of the Fire Nation, and Iroh could not—and would not—do anything to stop him.

"My lord," came a hushed voice. Iroh looked up to see Yen Pao, the royal librarian, standing there. With his gaunt face, his curved nose, and thick spectacles, he had a strangely owl-like look about him. His head was inclined in a bow, and Iroh wondered exactly how tight a leash his brother had been keeping the palace staff on.

"Yes, Yen Pao?" Iroh asked kindly.

"I have noticed that your lordship has been reading constantly these past three weeks," Yen Pao said humbly. "And that your lordship is perusing all materials that pertain to the nature of spirits…and the Spirit World." It was true. Iroh had been poring over tomes since his return, barely spending time in anyplace but his home and the library. That Yen Pao had been watching for so long meant that he had wanted to approach Iroh about this for some time. Iroh said nothing, respectfully waiting for the librarian to continue. "I believe that I possess a book that might be of use to your lordship."

He reached into his robes and pulled out a small, black leatherbound book with peeling gold print on its cover. Iroh took it and hefted it, before reading the title on the dilapidated cover. _The Nature of All Things_, it was called. It had been written by Lao Tzu, one of the many Avatars who had hailed from the Fire Nation. Iroh's eyes widened. "This is an extremely ancient and rare book, Yen Pao," he said. "Are you quite sure that I should be using this in my trivial research?" The librarian let a glimmer of a smile show on his usually serious face.

"Absolutely, my lordship. I believe you will find it to be a gateway to even higher learning." With that, he swept off without so much as a goodbye, off again to tend to his precious walls of books. Interested, Iroh put his scroll aside and opened the book. There was something lodged between a pair of pages, and when Iroh opened it, two things fell out. The first was a small scrap of parchment, while the second was unmistakably a Pai Sho tile. Iroh picked up the parchment, and read:

_Midnight at the place where it grows._ Iroh's brow furrowed for a moment as he tried to work out what the parchment meant. But as he did, he picked up the Pai Sho tile. It was a standard one, not from a particularly nice set. But it was the symbol on the Pai Sho tile that caught his eye. It was that of an ornate and beautiful flower-a lotus. And in that instant, Iroh knew exactly what the parchment meant.

That night, the pond on the outskirts of the city was eerily still, offering a brilliant reflection of the crescent moon. Iroh sat upon a rock on the pond's edge, admiring it. He saw a small flotilla of white lotus flowers, gently skating across the glassy surface of the pond, and for the first time in weeks, Iroh felt a strange calm about him. He breathed easy, even as he felt figures slowly surround him. A somewhat grating, unfamiliar voice penetrated the night.

"Who knocks at the garden gate?" it asked. Iroh thought for a moment before carefully wording his response.

"One who has eaten the fruit, and tasted its mysteries," he said. The robed figures around him relaxed, and all of them threw off their hoods. The speaker was a severe-looking man that Iroh immediately recognized to be the legendary sword master, Piandao. And circled around him were others, Yen Pao among them. Piandao held out his hand, and Iroh took it.

"Welcome, General Iroh, to the Order of the White Lotus."

**GENERAL HOW**

The Tiger General paced the war room like his namesake, his eyes not once leaving the war board. With the Fire Nation in full rout, Ba Sing Se had received word from all across the country that the invasion force's offense was ebbing. General Fong had taken a large detachment and pursued Iroh's command all the way to the edge of the shore, and though the Dragon had emerged victorious in their confrontation, the Fire Nation was still beating a fighting retreat. How should have felt happy. And yet, for some reason, he did not.

He found himself greatly unsettled by the newly prominent position that Long Feng had taken in the chain of command. In the three weeks since Long Feng had assumed control of the Dai Li, he had slowly begun to restrict access to the Earth King more and more, until it seemed as though the newly-promoted Grand Secretariat would not allow anyone a moment alone with their noble, if not young, ruler. Long Feng had assured the Council that it was all for security reasons, as General Weng had proved treacherous previously. But while the Council retained control of the vast Earth army, How could not help but notice how much more prevalent the Dai Li were becoming, or how the Palace Guard now seemed to take orders directly from Long Feng and Long Feng alone.

"You are troubled, General How?" How looked up from the board. That lilting voice could only belong to General Sue, the Leopard General. He did not seem nearly as cold and detached as he normally did. In fact, How was almost certain that beneath the man's braided beard he could see some semblance of a mysterious half-smile.

"I am merely in thought, General Sue." Sue didn't seem to completely believe him.

"The war has gone well for us, and yet you are not satisfied. The state of affairs in Ba Sing Se bothers you." How looked into those cool green eyes, and wondered how it was that they could so easily peer into the secret's of a man's mind and soul. He nodded gruffly, not wishing to say it out loud lest there be unwanted ears listening. Nonetheless, General Sue didn't appear to be afraid of eavesdroppers. There was something unnerving about a man who was that eternally calm.

"There is little we can do for now, General How," Sue said. "But there will come a day when the Earth King can come into his own as true ruler of our city, of our kingdom. And when that day comes, a soldier such as yourself will be rewarded." How did not feel any less easy about that thought; that could be a long way off, and he imagined Long Feng had enough resources to deny the war forever, if he wanted to.

"Until then, we must make plans." How raised an eyebrow.

"Plans?" he asked mildly.

"The Fire Nation's host is broken for now," said Sue, "but it will not be for long. Large swathes of the countryside are still under the thumb of the Fire Lord. We must free them." He tapped the war board gently, and several of the earthen pieces slid along its marble surface. "And once we have done that, we must prepare our defense for the next thrust." He tapped the board again, and the pieces once again reconfigured themselves. How nodded as he surveyed the moves being made. And as he watched Sue outlining his plan, he was hit with a sudden moment of inspiration.

"Tell me, General Sue," he said. "What do you know of the man they call Hakoda of the Water Tribe?" General Sue looked uncharacteristically nonplussed.

"I have not heard of him," he admitted. How grinned.

"I have," How said. "And I believe he and his Water Tribe brethren may be of use to us yet." He rapped the board slightly, and a small array of stone ships sailed onto the map from the margins. "Let me show you…"

**JEONG JEONG**

As one, Jeong Jeong's students contorted themselves to match his easy and fluid motions. He was teaching them truly advanced Firebending. They were moves that he himself was quite familiar with, but from the awkwardness of their motions it appeared that his students were having some difficulty. Feeling the big finish to the kata coming upon him, he felt the energy swell in his chest as he shifted his weight and jabbed forth his outstretched palm with all his might like a spearhead, and was rewarded with warmth and an awe-inspiring roar as a massive gout of flame shot into the air before dissipating in a rain of dazzling sparks. He watched as his students completed, and though they were all experienced men of the Fire Nation navy, the results were mostly disappointing. The most impressive student, a steely-faced lieutenant with prominent sideburns, still failed to conjure forth a flame even a third as large as his own. But, Jeong Jeong was a good teacher. They were new to this. He would have patience.

"That was unacceptable," he said harshly, standing up straight and folding his arms behind his back. If an enemy were to see you perform this, they would die of laughter!" He cast a severe eye on all of them. "You all made the same mistake," he began to lecture. "You tried to control your bodies instead of trying to control the flame, and instead you ended up in control of neither." He wheeled his arms around his head and punched the air, blasting forth a narrow streamer of fire whose end resembled the head of a dragon. "You must draw the flame out with your breath, not your hands," he said, careful to keep his breathing steady even as he spoke. The dragon soared majestically around those assembled twice before it burned out and disappeared.

"Let us take a break for an hour," Jeong Jeong said, his tone a bit kinder now. "We will resume the teaching of this form after you all have had something to eat." The crowd of officers dispersed, chatting amongst themselves. Jeong Jeong watched them go with some degree of disappointment. For all their reputation, the sailors in the Fire navy were nowhere near as disciplined as the soldiers that made up their glorious army. He expected he would be teaching them advanced Firebending for a long while yet.

"Admiral Jeong Jeong." The voice broke him out of his reverie. The lieutenant with sideburns was standing there, and the second Jeong Jeong was alert, he immediately sunk into a bow. "Your Firebending prowess is very impressive. You are truly a master of the art," he said eloquently. Jeong Jeong inclined his head in thanks, knowing that the youth was not finished speaking. "I feel held back, however, by the slow progress made by my fellow students…"

"Your progress has not been so quick, either," Jeong Jeong cut across him. He was a ranking officer; interruption was his privelege. The lieutenant shook his head.

"You saw that I was the best of your students," he pressed. "You know that I have greater potential than anyone else on this ship. You know," he added quietly, "that I am the best candidate to pass on your greatest skills to."

"What do you want from me?"

"I wish to have private instruction in addition to our group lessons," he said. There was a hint of demanding in his voice, but Jeong Jeong chose to ignore this, and perhaps attribute it to youthful eagerness. "You can instruct me, and I would be useful as a teaching assistant…" Jeong Jeong took all of this into consideration. Having someone else who could lead the class in exercises would be useful, and he seemed to be enthusiastic about the study of Firebending. At long last, Jeong Jeong nodded slowly.

"Very well," he said. "I will teach you." He held out his hand. "And what is the name of my new pupil?" The lieutenant took it, and there was a grin of triumph on his face, but one that Jeong Jeong was not sure if he liked or not.

"My name is Lieutenant Zhao."


End file.
